Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Freshers urged to join harassment event after ‘1 in 3 suffer incidents’
QUEEN’S University freshers are being urged to join an online workshop and discussion about sexual harassment as they begin their first year.
The Raise Your Voice project, run by a consortium of Northern Ireland’s leading women’s groups, is hosting a Let’s Talk About Sexual Harassment event.
A comprehensive student survey carried out last year laid bare the extent of the issue in Northern Ireland’s third-level education institutions with one in three revealing they had experienced unwanted sexual behavior during their time at university or college.
QUB Equality and Diversity Officer Roisin Muirhead told how it was important to use online discussions to get the message out about sexual violence and misogyny at a time when face-to-face meetings have been severely curtailed.
She said: “Experiences of sexual harassment in all its forms can be extremely damaging and there are many barriers to students seeking support – whether it be a fear of stigma or simply not knowing how to report the incident.
“It is a pervasive and complex issue to tackle, but there is a growing student movement challenging the lack of understanding surrounding sexual consent.”
Helen Crickard from Raise Your Voice added: “The QUB workshop will be interactive, engaging and will provide an understanding of the devastating impact of sexual harassment.
“We want to explain that even the smallest incident can have lifechanging consequences – it is not just about sexual violence and rape.”
The NUS-USI KNOWMORE report received feedback from 2,200 students across Northern Ireland.