Medr/2026/24: Violence against women, Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence (VAWDASV) self-evaluation framework for universities and higher education providers in Wales

Introduction: about the Toolkit

1. This tool is designed to support universities in Wales identify need, plan and deliver interventions that aim to prevent and respond to Violence against Women, Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence (VAWDASV) affecting both staff and students. It has been developed by the Violence Prevention Team, based in Public Health Wales, in collaboration with universities in Wales, Welsh Government and the VAWDASV Blueprint Team. Further, the Tool has been developed with reference to Medr’s regulatory and funding conditions, set out by the Tertiary Education and Research (Wales) Act 2021 (more details on the Act are provided in the Background section of this document).

2. The planning considerations tool is intended to be used by universities to embed a public health and whole-university approach in designing and delivering activity aiming to address VAWDASV. A public health approach prioritises primary prevention and early intervention, and focuses on developing solutions based on evidence, and evaluating activity to ensure anticipated impacts are achieved and adverse effects are mitigated. A whole-university approach aligns with a public health approach in that it recommends that all aspects of a university setting work together to promote and support everyone within the university population, ensuring there is equitable access to services and consistent responses to issues regardless of where or how someone seeks or receives guidance. A whole university approach also emphasises the need to recognise the diversity of the student population, including but not limited to international students, students on placement and mature students and the staff population, including administrative staff, faculty and senior leadership, to ensure the aforementioned equitable access to services.

3. With these approaches in mind, the tool guides users through the key considerations of what needs to exist within a university setting for planning and delivering activity. These considerations include taking account of existing policies and strategies, understanding available data that could be used to identify the problem/s and establishing how to reach key stakeholders within existing or new forums or channels.

4. The tool includes a set of principles to help ensure a consistent approach to delivering activity aimed at responding to or preventing VAWDASV across Wales, whilst recognising the unique and often nuanced landscape each university operates in. These principles have been developed with Welsh universities and are grounded in the principles of the VAWDASV Wales Blueprint, the Trauma-Informed Wales Framework and the Wales Without Violence Framework.