There have been multiple events in the news recently that the GSU Officer team wish to respond to. This statement touches on the subject of race and violence against women.
This statement touches on the subject of race and violence against women. All links open in a new window.
From your GSU Officers
It saddens us to hear that personal safety has become an increasingly prominent issue across society.
We are also aware of a rise in racially motivated acts of violence towards the East and Southeast Asian community during the pandemic. Furthermore, women's safety is in the spotlight after prominent media coverage of a murder investigation in Kent, which began as a missing persons case in South London.
At the University of Greenwich and Greenwich Students’ Union, there is zero tolerance for language of hate and abuse of any kind is not acceptable.
Our response today acknowledges that it would be wrong to say that you should behave differently because of your race or gender and be solely responsible for keeping yourself safe. We should all aim to be allies and to be considerate of others’ experiences, and conscious of the space we take up. We should live in a society where everyone feels comfortable and these incidents don’t occur – let's do better.
That being said, it is understandable that you may be feeling worried, anxious and scared to go about your business at this time.
We would usually advise for people to travel in groups, but during the current COVID restrictions this is not possible. You can however share your location with a friend, be that through WhatsApp, Find my iPhone or similar smartphone function if available or by being on the other end of the phone line. Find a method that works for you before you need to use it.
We have previously written guidance for all students to help them stay safe which you can read in full here. We note that in the case of Sarah Everard, the evidence showed she took many of these steps to protect herself from harm.
Should an incident occur please report this to the police immediately. If an incident occurs on campus, you should contact Security. The quickest way to do this is through SafeZone, the personal safety app, which you can download from your usual app store.
We also recommend storing campus-specific emergency contact details in your phone, which are available on the Staying safe on and off campus article.
If you live in halls of residence, we also encourage you to store the numbers for the Resident Assistants (RAs) and hall security in your phone. Finally, the University’s Campus Student Centres provide access to a wide range of student support services and information available to you.
Support and resources for advice and mental health support are available on our website through our Advice Service and Togetherall. The University also has a clear bullying and harassment policy and procedure.
If you have any concerns or need support regarding anything mentioned in this article, you can contact:
If you are looking to take action on Violence Against Women and Girls, the Government have reopened their consultation. You can feed into this discussion here. The consultation will close 26 March 11.45pm.