Thousands of university students across Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland are to benefit from a new educational programme raising awareness of harassment and sexual misconduct.
The Your Path: Walk Through What Matters Programme is a mandatory learning package developed in response to new regulations requiring universities to have effective and inclusive education on harassment and sexual misconduct in place by 1st August 2025.
The project, led by Leicestershire Police’s Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Lead, Sharan Dhillon, has been co-designed with students from De Montfort and Loughborough Universities alongside a complex needs and trauma-informed specialist from charity Jasmine House, Leicester Rape Crisis, which works with survivors of sexual abuse, sexual violence and rape. The content is suitable for both male and female students including those who have lived experience of sexual misconduct or harassment and young people with additional educational needs.
Further input has been provided by student services, academic leads, safeguarding staff and external specialists.
The programme, jointly funded by the universities, could potentially reach up to 16,000 students in its first year of delivery and consists of informational videos, multiple choice question sets and information documents.
PowerPoint presentations, sound-free video versions, visual infographic tools and a facilitator’s guide for one-to-one or small group sessions with SEND, neurodiverse and international students have also been produced to ensure the learning package is universally accessible.
The trauma-informed content and is delivered across six modules: Consent and Boundaries, Harassment and Sexual Misconduct, Dating, Relationships and Harmful Behaviours, Toxic University Culture, Bystander Intervention and Support Pathways.
Tackling VAWG is a key priority in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Police and Crime Commissioner Rupert Matthews’ new Police and Crime Plan. The Commissioner also recognises that men and boys can be victims of sexual harassment and misconduct too and is committed to ensuring all victims feel supported and have access to high-quality recovery services.
As part of his commitment to preventing crime, the PCC has pledged to facilitate the delivery of evidence-supported behavioural change campaigns so that people are in no doubt of the types of behaviour that are unacceptable. He has also vowed to work in partnership to stamp out sexual violence and harassment in all its forms.
Welcoming the programme, Police and Crime Commissioner Rupert Matthews said: “Sexual harassment can have a devastating impact on mental health and self-esteem, leading to long-term psychological and emotional trauma for the victims.
These experiences do not just impact girls and women. Men and boys, too, can and do experience sexual harassment and misconduct, although their stories often remain untold because of shame, embarrassment or the fear of not being taken seriously.
“Wholesale change is needed to not only reduce the immediate risk to victims but to challenge and disrupt the attitudes and beliefs that fuel sexual harassment before they have an opportunity to manifest. This means working with young people and children, in our schools, youth settings and beyond, before the onset of offending as part of a holistic, public-health approach.
“This programme has been co-designed with young people themselves to ensure the content is both relevant and emotive, with the ultimate aim of protecting victims from these dreadful crimes and having to live with the psychological and emotional consequences.
“I also hope it encourages more victims to come forward to report these crimes so we can better deliver justice and help victims recover and rebuild their lives.”
Each module video is four to six minutes long with five follow-up questions to answer.
Students will undertake the programme in their own time on via an online leaning platform and can complete all in one go or in stages, depending on the student’s preference.
Before launching, students from both universities were given the opportunity to review the content and share their experiences and insight to help shape the final package.
Students will begin completing the programme at the start of the academic year, with the roll out initially focused on first year students before targeting the wider cohort.
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Posted on Wednesday 10th September 2025