Last year the Government called for a crackdown on ‘lad culture’ in universities. The then Secretary of State for Business, Sajid Javid, wrote to universities across the country asking them to set up a task force to investigate the ‘sexual and verbal assault’ against women on campus. He wants a code of practice developed for dealing with incidents to bring about a complete ‘culture change’ and end ‘lad culture’ in universities.
Over a year has now passed. The Debrief have contacted the Department of Education to find out whether there had been any progress on this, a spokesperson said that there would be ‘more information in due course.’
As things stand Britain’s universities face big problems tackling racism, homophobia and sexism. A 2010 NUS survey, Hidden Marks, revealed that one in seven women had experienced serious physical or sexual assault during their time at university. Over two thirds had experienced verbal or non-verbal harassment such as groping, flashing and unwanted sexual comments.
Both Oxford and Cambridge now offer consent classes, Oxford University describes their sexual consent course as compulsory. However, such classes at universities around the country are still derided. In Warwick just last week one student activist distributed leaflets encouraging freshers to boycott consent classes.
Ahead of the Governments imminent announcement The Debrief asked Britain’s top university's student unions about their policies and actions on consent, sexual assault and harassment. It's by no mean an exhaustive list - we literally started at top of the league table and worked our way down as a starting point. But if your university isn't covered here, let us know on Twitter @thedebriefand tell us how well you think your university is combating sexual assault, harassment and dealing with consent, and we'll add it in.
Consent at Cambridge University
Their record:
In 2014 a survey by Cambridge University Student Union’s Women’s Campaign revealed shocking results. 28.5% of 2,126 respondents said that they had been sexually assaulted in Cambridge. 35% said they had been subjected to sexual harassment which included groping, touching without consent and inappropriate sexual comments. Since then they became one of the first universities to start running consent classes.
What they say:
Cambridge University Student Union’s Women’s Officer, Audrey Sebatindira, told The Debrief:
‘The University is in the process of finalising a new sexual harassment policy, which the student union is very excited about.’
‘We currently run sexual consent workshops in colleges across the University during freshers’ week. The CUSU Women’s Officer provides training to college JCRs (student-run committees) and they go on to lead the workshops themselves.’
Consent at Oxford University
Their record:
Oxford has often found itself in the news for the wrong reasons when it comes to consent and sexual assault. The university has previously been accused of ‘not taking rape allegations seriously.’
What they say:
Orla White, VP Women at Oxford University Students Union told The Debrief:
‘Consent education is a massive part of my job. We run consent workshops in Freshers’ week which are mandatory for undergrads; we’re working on pushing for more graduate common rooms to also make their workshops compulsory. The workshops are ninety minutes long and mostly focus on discussing three scenarios which raise a range of issues like alcohol, partner violence and the stigma facing survivors of sexual violence. We hold them in order to start a discussion about consent, spark change, and express our commitment to challenging sexual violence and supporting survivors in every single situation. There are student-run anonymous reporting mechanisms, such as It Happens Here which anonymise and publish experiences of sexual violence.’
Consent at Imperial College London
Their record:
Imperial’s website directs visitors to London’s Metropolitan Policefor guidance on how to deal with rape and sexual assault.
What they say:
Emily, Imperial’s Welfare Officer, told The Debrief: ‘My team and I are working incredibly hard to tackle the problems of sexual assault/harassment and to create a culture of respect, consent and understanding. I'm also pleased to tell you that College working closely with us on the matter as well.’
Consent at University of St Andrews
Their record:
In 2014 students at St Andrews were calling on their university to take urgent action against sexual harassment at the university. At the time Maddie Armstrong wrote in The Saint:
‘On the surface, St Andrews’ policy towards sexual harassment ticks all the right boxes. A quick Google search reveals that the university’s stance against, and information on sexual harassment is both much more visible and much more thorough than that of many UK universities including Glasgow and Edinburgh.’
‘The situation on the ground, however, is markedly different. The student mentioned above for example, was farcically assigned a personal bodyguard to accompany her around town whilst the investigation deliberated (that same investigation that so obstinately refused to act on the crime that had already actually happened).’
What they say:
Charlotte Andrew, Student Association President, told The Debrief:
“The Student Association also strengthened its Zero Tolerance Policy last academic year (2015-16), stating that all kinds of harassment and discrimination are absolutely unacceptable and will not be tolerated anywhere within the Students' Association. The University’s sexual misconduct policy was updated last year to include not only advice and resources for students dealing with issues around sexual misconduct, but also to set out clearly – for the first time – the University’s role and responsibilities. The new document now explains more clearly not only what victims can do, but also what they can expect the University to do. This includes policies regarding risk assessments, protocols with the police, and disciplinary action.’
‘The St Andrews Students’ Association and the University of St Andrews are particularly proud of our recent initiative called StAnd Together, a group who run ‘Got Consent’ workshops. The workshops were designed and delivered in collaboration with the Violence Reduction Unit - to equip male and female students with the skills to safely intervene and prevent sexual violence. They train students in the areas of the legal definitions of consent and sexual harassment. Additionally, it stresses a community and bystander intervention approach to the prevention of sexual misconduct, and enforces the idea that we all have a part to play in making our community safer.’
Consent at Durham University
Their record:
Durham university made it compulsory for first years to take consent classes in 2015. Earlier this year a former secretary of Durham Union Society’s debating club made headlines after he was charged with raping and sexually assaulting two fellow students. One of them reported that he made a rape joke whilst assaulting her, saying ‘don’t worry darling, it’s rape’.
What they say:
The Debrief has contacted Durham University’s community officer for a comment.
Consent at University of Warwick
Their record:
Warwick went viral last year because of a student called George Lawlor and his comments on consent. Writing in The Tab he expressed his distaste at being invited to consent classes and was pictured holding a sign which read ‘this is not what a rapist looks like’. Other students seemingly agreed with him. Jack Hadfield, also a student at Warwick, wrote around the same time for Breitbart that he felt there was ‘no such thing as “rape culture” …it’s the demonization of men and the pernicious spread of consent classes.’
They say:
The Debrief has contacted Warwick’s Welfare and Campaigns Officer for a comment.
Consent at University of Exeter
Their record:
Exeter’s campaign #neverok has been challenging sexual harassment since 2014. It aims to ‘eradicate sexual harassment and create a safer environment for everyone.’
They say:
The Debrief has contacted Exeter’s Welfare Officer for a comment.
Consent at University of Surrey
Their record:
Nothing visible.
They say:
The Debrief emailed Surrey’s Student Voice Manager for a comment.
Consent at London School of Economics
Their record:
Another university where not so casual sexism has made the national press. In 2014 LSE’s rugby club published a misogynistic leafletwhich described women as ‘mingers’, ‘trollops’ and ‘slags’. Last year the Student Union launched their ‘Consent Is Clear Cut Campaign’, which seems to have consisted of posters posted on campus.
They say:
The Debrief contacted LSE’s Community and Welfare Officer for a comment.
Consent at University College London
Their record:
University College London have worked with Rape Crisis South London to provide definitions of consent and advice about where to seek help on their website.
They say:
The Women’s Officer at UCL’s union told The Debrief:
‘UCLU runs Active Bystander workshops as part of the Zero Tolerance to Sexual Harassment campaign, for first year students in departments that have taken the pledge to take a zero tolerance stance against sexual harassment. In these workshops we discuss the definition of sexual harassment, consent, and talk about how to intervene when sexual harassment occurs, and the situations in which one might do this. For this year’s set of workshops, we have had 48 departments sign up before the deadline, and many more approach us after the deadline who we hope will reapply next year.’
‘Something that I am working on, as part of a wider liberation network and members of the Zero Tolerance working group, is an anonymous reporting system to allow students to easily report instances of sexual harassment and sexual violence at UCL, so that we can track incidents of this nature and highlight problem areas, even if we cannot directly support those disclosing.’
Consent at Lancaster University
Their record:
Lancaster introduced compulsory consent classes for freshers this year.
They say:
The Debrief contacted Lancaster’s Welfare Representative for a comment.
Consent at University of Bath
Their record:
In 2014 they ran a campaign called ‘Counter the Culture’. It aimed to improve reporting mechanisms for incidents, training, get students to sign pledge to be part of a harassment free campus, and make new students aware of expected behavioural standards.
They say:
The Debrief contacted Bath’s student union for a comment.
Consent at Loughborough University
Their record:
Earlier this year Loughborough launched its first ever ‘Consent Week’for both students and staff.
They say:
The Debrief contacted Loughborough’s Welfare and Diversity Officer for a comment. In February of this year the Student Union launched consent week – this included discussions and film screenings on the subject of consent.
Consent at University of Leeds
Their record:
Last year Leeds University’s Equality and Diversity Officer wrote in The Tab that Leeds needed consent classes, citing a survey which found that 38% of female students in Leeds who responded had experienced sexual assault. Earlier this year they launched a campaign on consent called ‘We’ve Got Your Back’.The explanation of sexual harassment on the Student Union’s website is clear and gives information about how to report instances both at day and out of hours.
They say:
The Debrief has contacted Leeds Student Union for a comment.
Consent at University of York
Their record:
Not everyone at York is a fan of consent classes, last week student walked out of a consent talk in an echo of George Lawlor’s comments last year after an ‘activist’ named Ben Froughi distributed a leaflet encouraging freshers to boycott the consent briefing.
Speaking to Nouse, York’s student publication, Froughi said ‘consent talks propagate the backward message that all women are potential victims and all men potential rapists.’
They say:
The Debrief spoke to Millie Beach, York Student Union’s President and Mia Shantana Chaudhuri-Julyan and Lucy Roberston, York’s Women’s Officers:
Millie: ‘This year we are introducing consent talks into our campus-wide welcome programme. While the talks were researched and designed by our women's officers, they are targeted at all genders in order to build understanding of consent and respond to the growing student demand for clearer action on issues like sexual harassment and consent.’
Lucy: ‘The consent talk is something we're incredibly proud of, to have it university-wide is a very positive step for York and speaks volumes about how senior management and the SU care about our students’
Millie: ‘YUSU is increasing work with local charities such as 'Survive' whose work specifically focuses on aiding victims of sexual violence to increase accessibility and awareness of appropriate support services.’
Lucy: ‘As it stands there is not a coherent method of recording occurrences on this campus, namely due to student confidentiality when speaking to student support. Mia and I are hoping to create an anonymous reporting system for this reason.’
Consent at University of Southampton
Their record:
Nothing visible.
They say:
The Debrief spoke to George Middleton Baker of Southampton’s Union: ‘I am currently in the process of investigating those exact things [sexual harassment, assault and consent] from our University as we plan an overhaul on our own procedures regarding the recording of harassment and consent education for students.’
Consent at University of Birmingham:
Their record:
Birmingham’s Student Union website has two videos on the subject of consent. They have also run a campaign called ‘Not On’which is aimed at tackling sexual harassment.
They say:
The Debrief emailed Birmingham’s Welfare Officer for a comment.
Consent at University of East Anglia
Their record:
The university website hosts information about consent and advises people as to where they can seek help and guidance. The Union has also run a consent campaign called ‘Never OK’.
They say:
Jo Swo, the University’s Welfare Officer, told The Debrief: ‘At UEA Student Union we have our very own anti-sexual harassment campaign called Never OK which won “Best Campaign of the Year” at NUS Women’s Conference, it’s a mixture of cultural change by challenging common ‘exceptions’ of sexual harassment (e.g. she was wearing a short skirt, I slept with them last week, its only banter etc.) and in house training of our bar staff and security, as we operate a zero-tolerance to sexual harassment….We work with our University to try and have a partnership on the issue but there are obvious areas where we believe they are lacking focus or resources.’
Consent at University of Sussex:
Their record:
The Student Union has run a campaign called ‘I Heart Consent’which aims to have annual training for student groups. However, this doesn’t seem to be compulsory.
They say:
The Debrief contacted Sussex’s Welfare Officer for a comment.
Consent at University of Bristol:
Their record:
In 2013 Epigram, the university’s student paper, published an article titled ‘Special Report: Sexism rife at Bristol.’ As with many other universities this seems to have been a long running and deep rooted problem for Bristol. In 2015 the University of Bristol and the University of the West of England signed a joint zero tolerance to sexual violence and harassment statement and policy.
They say:
Hannah Dualeh, Bristol’s Women’s Officer, told The Debrief ‘we run consent workshops (which I and [The WO] will be doing again this year) but we don’t have a stable guide on the website for students to refer to on what consent is, how to ensure you have consent and what to do if consent is not given. I think also to have a guide on the website is a powerful statement to show students we are committed to tackling sexual violence and makes accessible all year round for those who can't attend workshops or have questions.’
The Debrief wants to hear from you: tweet us and tell us how well you think your university is combating sexual assault, harassment and dealing with consent.
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Additional reporting by Bethan McGrath and Holly Harper
This article originally appeared on The Debrief.