UWLSU President, Yash, hosted different initiatives for Sexual Violence Awareness Week. It's important to share information surrounding the topics that come under this umbrella and raise awareness. Yash's aim was to curate events that educate and empower students. Let's have a look at the initiatives UWLSU put on...
Understanding and Responding to Sexual Harassment with Dr. Anna James
We hosted a workshop for any students to come to and learn about identifying and confronting sexual harassment. Dr. Anna James gave students crucial information regarding employment laws and university regulations. She also spoke about actions to take if you or anyone around you experience harassment.
This is an important topic to be educated on to help keep yourself and others safe. It's also one that isn't discussed often enough, so we took this opportunity to give everyone access to this information. We encouraged SU student staff and society and sports club committees to come along, so they can gain more knowledge to keep our community safe.
"The workshop was amazing and it was great to see so many students attend! Personally, I learnt a lot from the part about spotting red flags and understanding the psychology behind certain behaviour. I believe students got a valuable snapshot of the relevant laws to them." Yash, SU President
Empowering Messages from UWL Students
As part of this awareness week, Yash wanted to put on an activity that would empower students. At our SU front desks, we put out boxes where students could write anonymous empowering messages for us to share! Here are some of our favourites:
Q+A with the Welfare Team
UWL's Welfare Team is here for any student that needs advice or guidance for anything they are going through or have been through. Within the team, there are Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Leads. This means, they are specialised advisors who are there to support any student that has experienced/is experiencing domestic violence or sexual assault. You can also talk to them about others you may be concerned about or just to talk through anything you are worried about.
Let's look at some of the questions students had...
Can you help with issues outside of uni?
"We do support with things that happen outside of the university as well. If you're ever unsure, you can always book a welfare appointment on the Student Hub or we offer slots called "Just Ask Sessions" for those quick queries that you might have. They're 10 minute appointments, you can get those on the Student Hub as well."
What should I do if I'm not sure if something is a problem?
"If you're ever unsure is something is a problem, the best thing to do is just drop us an email or you can book a welfare appointment or a "Just Ask Session".
What happens after I talk to you?
"It pretty much depends what the issue of the concern is about. If it's a situation related to domestic or sexual violence, we'll be able to support you throughout the process - that's what we're here for. It's a confidential space for you to talk about whatever concern or issue. If we can't support you directly we can sign post you to other support services."
Will reporting affect me visa?
"Reporting to us will not affect your visa in any way. If you're ever unsure please do book an appointment. It's a safe space for you to come and talk to us about anything that might be bothering you. You can also report anonymously through Report + Support."
Can I talk to you about something that happened to someone else?
"Yes, you absolutely can come and speak to us about anything that might be bothering you, or if it relates to a friend or a family member. In addition to that you can report anything that you might have witnessed as well that's maybe made you feel a bit uncomfortable. You can do that through Report + Support or a welfare appointment."
Is Report + Support anonymous?
"You can 100% report anonymously through Report + Support. If you choose to report not anonymously then we can better support you. As we have already said, this is a confidential space for you to talk about what the issue is and then we can see how best we can help you"
Book an appointment with the Welfare Team here.
Find out more about Report + Support here.
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