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9 April 2024

Learn what healthy relationships look like in this short online unit

How confident are you about navigating your personal and professional relationships? Do you have a good understanding of issues like respect, consent, diversity and gender equality?

One thing you can do is complete the Respect at Deakin module – a short online unit that discusses some important issues you may encounter during your studies, in the community, at work and at home. Encouraging everyone to think about these topics helps us to maintain the Deakin standard of a safe, respectful and inclusive learning and working environment.

It’s also beneficial to show future employers that you understand these issues and have developed practical skills to deal with them in the real world. Plus, you can include the module on your LinkedIn profile or CV!

What you’ll learn

The module explores some interesting topics, including:

While these are challenging topics, we encourage you to engage with them in an open-minded way and to learn from the perspective of others, just like Biomedical Science student Halima Abdul Aziz did when she completed the module:

The ‘power and privilege’ part of the intersectionality section stood out to me the most because there were statistics I didn’t know about. It made me reconsider and realize how quickly an individual can be discriminated against and hurt just by being themselves.

You’ll find some practical suggestions of what to do if you see someone being disrespectful or abusive. We’ve also included links to some helpful resources and free professional services.

There’s seven main topics, which should take you about 20 minutes to complete – but there’s no ‘pass’ or ‘fail’. Once you get to the end, you check a box to trigger a completion email and receive your certificate of completion.

Who should complete the module

Everyone! While it’s voluntary (unless you’re an HDR student – please see below) and there’s no credit points attached, we encourage all students to spend 20 minutes educating themselves on these important issues.

If this is your first trimester at Deakin, we suggest you do the module early in the study period. But it will be available year-round, so you can access it any time that suits.

Access the Respect at Deakin module now or find it at any time in DeakinSync under ‘Course sites and useful extras’ > ‘Respect Belong Thrive at Deakin’.

While you’re there, you’ll see another module called ‘Belong at Deakin’. This unit will help you to better understand the experiences of people with disability and understand how to access disability support at Deakin – whether for yourself or to help others. This is another short unit that’s well worth your time and will look great on your CV!

If you’re a Higher Degree by Research (HDR) student

It’s compulsory for all new and continuing HDR students to complete a 50-minute module that – in addition to the ‘Respect at Deakin’ section – also incorporates an ‘HDR Respectful Supervisory Relationships’ section. This examines key factors that affect the HDR working relationship, including:

You’ll be automatically enrolled in the combined module, which you’ll find on CloudDeakin, under ‘Course sites and useful extras’. You won’t be able to submit your thesis until you’ve completed the module.

Content warning

The Respect at Deakin module discusses different types of harm, but there’s no explicit material or images included. If you wish to ‘opt out’ of these specific sections or have any feedback, questions or concerns, please email [email protected].

If you or someone you know is impacted by sexual harm or family violence, contact Deakin’s Safer Community service or 1800RESPECT.



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