This year’s Make Your Change winner is Women’s Safety On Campus 

Thank you to everyone who submitted an idea and voted in this year’s Make Your Change.  Securing 53% of the vote, Women’s Safety On Campus is our winning idea this year and will be the Union’s priority campaign. Everyone who got involved in the voting has influenced Union decision making.  

Women’s Safety on Campus is an area the Union’s Support and Community Zones have already been working on, and we would love your input into how this work can be developed. 

This year the Support Zone are re-launching their NoMore week campaign, which says NoMore to sexual harassment, violence or abuse. NoMore week starts on 14th March 2022

Click here for information on noMore Week

Projects we have been working on include:

  • Bystander Intervention Training for students and societies. 
  • Training for staff in stalking awareness (SAFFE) and as Sexual Violence Liaison Officers so that we can improve the support we provide to students. 
  • The ‘Ask for Angela’ scheme now operates in Rubix. 
  • We are continuing to address concerns about lighting on campus, particularly Yorkie’s Bridge, Manor Park and Hazel Farm, and asking the council to provide more CCTV in specific areas.  
  • We also continue to ask students to take the ‘make the pledge’ consent course, and to promote the ‘Report and Support’ tool.
  • Provide support around student sex workers, as national statistics show that 5% of students are engaging in sex work. 
  • Training the Union’s duty managers on how to handle disclosures of sexual violence and other sensitive disclosures.
  • Increasing our communications on how students can report any incidents occurring in Rubix
  • Looking into anti-spiking bottle tops for Rubix (students would have to bring their own straws), increasing the number of searches done on the door and removing any unattended drinks.

Student’s Ideas from the first Women’s Safety Campaign meeting:

  • Adjusting the key replacement procedure on Manor Park.
  • Coordinate a ‘walking bus’ between Stag Hill and Manor Park.
  • Provide regular self-defence classes.

Before Christmas, we will hold an event for students to demonstrate their solidarity for the campaign, and Women’s Safety will be a discussion point at the upcoming Student Voice Forum on the 18th of November. 

Get involved and find out more

Join the Women’s Safety on Campus campaign team : https://forms.office.com/r/jmfjwbvhk7   

Add the upcoming Student Voice Forum to your calendar and come along to hear more.