Sexual violence is any sexual act, whether the act is physical or psychological in nature, that is committed, threatened or attempted against a person without that person's consent. Sexual violence includes: unwanted touching, sexual harassment, sexual assault, or rape.

If you need support relating to sexual violence please make use of the information and support detailed here: https://students.sheffield.ac.uk/sexual-violence

More detailed information about the support available is also provided in the introductory text below under the heading ‘who can I contact for support’ and repeated at the end of the survey.

What is the purpose of this survey?
The survey is being carried out by the University's Impact and Evaluation Team. All students at the University of Sheffield are eligible and encouraged to take part in this survey. You do not need to have been subjected to sexual violence or to have accessed the University’s support for sexual violence to take part.
The aims of the survey are to:
 1) Gather feedback on students’ awareness of the University’s sexual violence support and procedures.
 2) Gather feedback on students’ opinions of the University’s sexual violence support and procedures.
 3) Gain an understanding of students’ experiences of sexual violence.
 4) Compare the results with the findings from the 2023 Sexual Violence Campus Climate Survey.

Your responses will help us to assess how support, activities and procedures are currently working and identify what our next priorities for improvement should be to best support our students.

This survey has been approved by the University of Sheffield’s ethics review procedure (reference number: 066331).

Why have I been sent this survey?
We would like to hear from all students across the University. The survey will take approximately 10 minutes to complete.

Do I have to take part?
There is no obligation to complete this survey, and you are able to exit or withdraw from the survey at any time. Data captured up to the point of withdrawal from the survey will still be used to help guide the review process.

This survey is focussed on sexual violence, including topics that may be distressing to some people, and we recommend that you consider this before deciding whether or not to complete the survey.

Since we will be asking you about sexual violence, we are aware that some questions are sensitive. All questions in the survey are optional. Most can be skipped and any which require a response include an option to answer 'prefer not to say'. Before starting the survey we will ask for your consent to take part in the survey (these questions are mandatory).

Prize draw
At the end of the survey, you will have the chance to enter a prize draw with the potential to win a £100 voucher (1 available), £50 voucher (2 available) or £25 voucher (2 available).  Winners will be given a choice of voucher types. The prize draw is optional to enter. In order to preserve your anonymity, if you choose to enter the prize draw you will be asked to share your email address via a separate survey which cannot be linked to your main survey answers. Only members of the Impact and Evaluation Team (IET) will have access to your email address and it will be deleted from their records once the prize draw is concluded. This is anticipated to be the end of May 2025. Removal of these email addresses from our records is guaranteed to be done by August 2025.

Opportunity to take part in future research on this topic
At the end of the survey you will have the opportunity to opt into a mailing list to be contacted about future opportunities to take part in research on this topic. It is anticipated that only 1 or 2 emails will be sent to this opt in list. In order to preserve your anonymity, if you choose to opt into this list you will be asked to share your email address via a separate survey which cannot be linked to your main survey answers. Only members of the Impact and Evaluation Team (IET) and the Safeguarding and Welfare team will have access to your email address and it will be deleted from their records no later than August 2026.

What will happen to my responses?
Responses to this survey will be reported at an aggregate level. Meaning that individual response patterns are not analysed. The responses from this survey will be written up into a report which will be used to make recommendations and improvements. The report will be shared within the University of Sheffield and may also be shared with the Students’ Union, other Higher Education Institutions, and the Office for Students (OfS). The research may also be shared/published more widely, for example through conferences or HE sector publications. The University of Sheffield will act as the Data Controller for this survey. This means that the University is responsible for looking after your information and using it properly.

What is the legal basis for processing my personal data?
According to data protection legislation, we are required to inform you that the legal basis we are applying in order to process your personal data is that ‘processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest’ (Article 6(1)(e)). Further information can be found in the University’s Privacy Notice https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/govern/data-protection/privacy/general

As we will be collecting some data that is defined in the legislation as more sensitive (e.g. information about your demographics), we also need to let you know that we are applying the following condition in law: that the use of your data is necessary ‘for archiving purposes in the public interest, scientific research purposes or statistical purposes' (9(2)(j)).

What if something goes wrong and I wish to complain about the survey or report a concern or incident?
If you are dissatisfied with any aspect of the survey and wish to make a complaint, please contact: iet@sheffield.ac.uk in the first instance. If you feel your complaint has not been handled in a satisfactory way or your complaint relates to potential exploitation, abuse or harm resulting from your involvement in this project, please contact the Designated Safeguarding Contact (Alison Twomey; a.e.twomey@sheffield.ac.uk). If the concern or incident relates to the Designated Safeguarding Contact, or if you feel a report you have made to this contact has not been handled in a satisfactory way, please contact the University’s Research Ethics & Integrity Manager (Lindsay Unwin; l.v.unwin@sheffield.ac.uk).

If the complaint relates to how your personal data has been handled, you can find information about how to raise a complaint in the University’s Privacy Notice: https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/govern/data-protection/privacy/general.

Who can I contact for support?
If you would like to access any support to discuss the areas highlighted by this survey, details of support services are below:

For matters related to sexual violence: students.sheffield.ac.uk/sexual-violence

For matters relating to domestic violence: https://reportandsupport.sheffield.ac.uk/support/category/domestic-abuse

A list of external bodies that can provide support in relation to sexual violence, domestic violence, harassment and stalking: students.sheffield.ac.uk/sexual-violence/external-support

If you wish to disclose an incident either with personal details or anonymously (this will also link you to the Sexual Violence Liaison Officers for direct support if you disclose your personal details): reportandsupport.sheffield.ac.uk/

If you have any questions about the support that is available you can contact the Safeguarding and Welfare Team via this online form: https://shef.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_ac1Yb1WpmDsN9gq

Who should I contact if I have any further questions about this project?

If you have any other questions about this survey or project please contact iet@sheffield.ac.uk.

We would like to thank you in advance for taking the time to engage with us on this survey.