Moving Beyond Institutional Boundaries: A Collaborative Approach to Primary Prevention

Abstract

Preventing and responding to incidents of sexual assault and sexual harassment on university campuses remains an ongoing challenge for tertiary institutions across Australia and around the world. The growing recognition that universities have an obligation to address sexual harm has led to increased cooperation and collaboration among universities. This paper provides an overview of one such example of sector collaboration—the Victorian Tertiary Primary Prevention Network (TPPN). This community of practice brings together practitioners to share resources, ideas, successes, and challenges in relation to the promotion of safe and respectful university communities, and the prevention of sexual assault and sexual harassment. The paper also highlights transferable elements of the Network, drawing attention to four principles that should be taken into consideration by those seeking to explore or develop similar cross-institutional programs of work.