SESSION OVERVIEW
Universities are compelled under the National Higher Education Code to Prevent and Respond to Gender-based Violence to help students to see themselves in the implementation of the Code.
One way La Trobe University is doing this is through student-focused sexual and reproductive health promotion messaging,
delivered with a sex-positive lens and includes practical ways that students can engage in sexual safety.Delivering this effectively is challenging in today’s information environment dominated by social media, where students report tech fatigue and inbox overload. Respect at La Trobe Student Ambassadors 2025 endorsed physical publications to cut through this fatigue by offering something trustworthy, relevant, and with a distinctly human element. By doing this, universities can demonstrate to students that their experiences are central to university life, that they are cared for, and that they belong.
We showcase The Hook Up, a student-focused sexual and reproductive health promotion intervention that translates contemporary research into lively, accessible print resources designed to be kept, shared, and revisited. Research translation (with researcher input) engages student audiences through a relatable voice and inclusive messaging.
We will explore key learnings from distributing The Hook Up to over 200 students showing that stigma can be reduced through communication that is confident, practical, and unafraid of gentle humour. Students loved seeing La Trobe take a proactive role in sexual and reproductive health education and appreciated receiving physical resources in an increasingly saturated digital communication landscape and gave them a distinct feeling of belonging in the university environment as their whole selves.
Challenges to developing this kind of material include working within conservative institutional settings and rigid branding pressures, building research translation capability, and distributing resources across hybrid, online, and multiple physical campuses. A sex-positive approach is essential to challenging stigma, building confidence and autonomy, and supporting the prevention of gender-based violence, but can be challenging to balance with the reality of risk associated with sex and relationships. The future of The Hook Up will involve deeper student and researcher co-development to strengthen sexual and reproductive health promotion outcomes.
This workshop will give attendees an opportunity to get creative with colleagues and other attendees with an activity that encourages fun and innovation in delivery of essential sexual and reproductive health promotion and gender-based violence prevention materials, using research translation techniques for a university student audience.
Session Outcomes:
- Insights into balancing sex-positive health promotion messaging with discussions of risk, safety and gender-based violence prevention.
- Strategies to build engaging strengths based messaging from contemporary research that show that student experiences belong at a university.
- A process and toolkit to take away that gives permission to explore research translation to create messaging that is inclusive, innovative and unique
PRESENTER
As Manager, Wellbeing and Inclusion at La Trobe University, Megan Campbell is privileged to focus on supporting community wellbeing through innovative solutions to complex and often challenging health issues. Throughout her career, she has continually developed her expertise and built a diverse toolkit of skills, holding qualifications including a Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Arts, Diploma of Education (Secondary) and Master of Public Health.
With a strong ability to develop innovative approaches that engage diverse communities in meaningful ways, Megan’s work with young people and across the broader education sector has reinforced the importance of equity and the transformative power of creative, ethical approaches to health and education.