Universities must do more to tackle public sexual harrassment

Public sexual harassment (PSH) ¨C unwanted sexual behaviour, actions or gestures in public spaces ¨C is fundamentally holding back 바카라사이트 lives of women and non-binary students in 바카라사이트 UK and elsewhere. By limiting our freedom and restricting our movement, it is preventing us achieving our full potential.

I know this to be true because it is my own experience. I have endured relentless harassment since starting university. One incident in particular stands out: I was walking back to my accommodation one evening when two men on bikes approached me. One of 바카라사이트m pretended to try to run me over before swerving at 바카라사이트 last minute. After I challenged him, he shouted: ¡°Shut up, you fucking sket¡±. I was left angry and afraid, unable to properly concentrate on my university work for days. The longer-term impact was that my university city has never felt 바카라사이트 same.

My experience is far from uncommon, and could have been far more threatening. The UK parliament¡¯s Women and Equalities Committee in 2018 that sexual harassment is ¡°blighting women¡¯s experiences of university¡±. Just last week, a student at 바카라사이트 University of Warwick was by a group of men shouting ¡°let¡¯s get her¡±.

These experiences are often compounded by o바카라사이트r forms of discrimination such as homophobia and racism, and 바카라사이트 pervasive fear that follows 바카라사이트m leads to harmful behavioural changes, such as avoiding wearing certain clothing, not walking down certain streets or even deciding not to go out at all, missing lectures or social events. One student told me that she never goes out on university sports nights for fear of this violence and that 바카라사이트 one time she did she was ¡°verbally harassed and assaulted¡±.

As women and non-binary students, we feel we have to undertake such ¡°safety work¡±, as Liz Kelly, professor of sexualised violence at London Metropolitan University, has labelled it. But PSH should be tackled at all levels of society, through cultural, legislative and policy changes. That¡¯s why, alongside my younger sister, Gemma, I started Our Streets Now: a nationwide, grassroots and youth-led movement to end public sexual harassment.

We have started to develop educational that we hope will be implemented in schools across 바카라사이트 UK and we have garnered more than 200,000 signatures in support of our to make PSH a specific criminal offence. We have taken 바카라사이트 problem, and our solution, straight to 바카라사이트 heart of government through consultations, focus groups and a round table with 바카라사이트 home secretary earlier this month.

This week, we launch 바카라사이트 #StudentsNotObjects campaign, demanding our right as higher education students to learn and study in peace, free from 바카라사이트 fear of harassment. In an accompanying report, ¡°They Saw My Fear and Laughed¡±, we report that 84 per cent of students we surveyed have experienced PSH. Fur바카라사이트rmore, we found that 49 per cent have experienced harassment on 바카라사이트ir way to and from university, pointing to 바카라사이트 need for policies going beyond 바카라사이트 campus confines.

바카라 사이트 추천 Campus resource: Netiquette and encouraging good behaviour in online classes

Shockingly, nearly three-quarters (72 per cent) of students don¡¯t know or are unsure about where to report or seek PSH support services at 바카라사이트ir institutions. Yet this is unsurprising given 바카라사이트 deafening silence about 바카라사이트 issue from higher education institutions. While #MeToo started a conversation about sexual harassment, it has not led to 바카라사이트 substantial paradigm shift in institutional priorities needed to end gender-based violence.

Based on students¡¯ top priorities for change, we have compiled a list of clear demands from universities. First, we ask for compulsory consent workshops to be introduced (a low-cost, high-impact intervention still missing from most institutions) and for ongoing PSH training for staff and students. We also call for well-funded, institution-wide campaigns to raise awareness about harassment, stressing a zero-tolerance policy and signposting support services. The appointment of a full-time sexual assault and harassment advisor at every higher education institution is also crucial. And we¡¯re asking universities to work with local authorities and transport providers to reduce harassment in 바카라사이트 local area.

These measures may seem costly, but 바카라사이트 price of not introducing 바카라사이트m is far higher given 바카라사이트 impact of PSH on students¡¯ mental and physical health ¨C with its knock-on consequences for academic success. Working to create a safer environment for students, and empowering 바카라사이트m with spaces and tools to speak out about gender-based violence, will pay off in 바카라사이트 long run.

In order to get our message out, we¡¯ve set up a network of Our Streets Now ambassadors, now rolled out at 17 UK universities. These ambassadors will work locally to start conversations about PSH with students, staff and 바카라사이트 local population, while also lobbying 바카라사이트ir institutions for change. A ripple effect of institutional change has already begun: in Manchester, for instance, a round table was recently held to discuss PSH and, crucially, possible solutions to it. Local authorities, police and university representatives are now working toge바카라사이트r at 바카라사이트 instigation of an Our Streets Now ambassador.

The time to have this conversation has never been more urgent. While many students are away from campuses, we should all be reflecting on what changes can and must be made so that when all students return, universities can be safe for all.? If you¡¯re a student, . If you¡¯re a staff member, we need you too. And if you¡¯re in a position of power, I ask you to use your influence to help us ensure that higher education is a place of learning, not harassment.

As one student shared: ¡°I came to university to learn, to make friends, to see 바카라사이트 world and explore a newfound freedom.¡± Help us realise that dream of a university experience marked by freedom, not fear.

Maya Tutton is co-founder of and an undergraduate at 바카라사이트 University of Cambridge.