Speakers
Melissa Reilly
Presentation
The Gender-based Violence Action Network for Students brings together Manchester’s universities, students’ unions, Greater Manchester Police, the local authority, and specialist support services.
The network began with a focus on sexual violence and widened its remit to cover gender-based violence, including domestic violence, stalking, and harassment. In this session, we will describe how the network was set up, and how partners work together to understand trends, increase students’ confidence to report, join up support across agencies, and share campaigns and good practice. We will reflect on what has helped and what has been difficult, including how we keep the voices of students and survivors at the centre of the network’s work.
Melissa Reilly is Head of Student Support and Designated Safeguarding Lead at University Academy 92 (UA92). Melissa leads UA92’s disability and inclusion, wellbeing, and counselling and mental health services, and is the institutional lead for Office for Students Condition E6.
Melissa has worked on responses to gender-based violence in UK higher education since 2016. From 2018 to 2024, as Advice and Response Manager at the University of Manchester, Melissa set up a specialist support service for students affected by gender-based violence, and investigated serious cases of sexual misconduct, harassment, and hate. In that role, Melissa founded the Gender-based Violence Action Network for Students, which brings together Manchester’s universities, students’ unions, police, local authority, and specialist services, and continues to chair it.
Melissa is a qualified Independent Sexual Violence Adviser (ISVA) and a MAPPA lay adviser, and previously sat on the Higher Education Advisory Panel of the Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education (OIA). Melissa’s practice is trauma-informed, values-led, and evidence-led.
Spencer Davies is Head of Advice and Response at the University of Manchester, where he leads the University’s support for gender-based violence (GBV) and serves as the operational lead for all student safeguarding matters. He holds Designated Safeguarding Lead qualifications in both Further and Higher Education. His remit also encompasses student investigations, and conduct and discipline, bringing extensive experience of both managing and personally conducting complex investigations.
Spencer led the University’s response to E6 and the University’s achievement of the Emily Test, GBV Chartermark. He is co-Chair of the GBV Action Network for Students, sits on the Manchester Safeguarding Partnership Adult Executive, and plays a senior role in a wide range of other cross-institutional work including Student Safety, Harm Reduction and Campus Relations work. Spencer’s approach is guided by a belief in the student at the centre of all decision-making.