How supportive are support services for sexual violence?

Even amidst the current focus on on-campus sexual violence that has been brought about by recent reports, there will still be students who will become victims of sexual violence before the changes can be implemented.

Current measures in place to tackle sexual abuse at Warwick include: speaking to personal or resident tutors, using the counselling service and/or Nightline, speaking to a mental health coordinator, visiting a GP, and contacting student support services. The Counselling Service has a dedicated section regarding sexual assault, where additional information can be found.

While the aforementioned measures may seem sufficient, they do have their limitations. For instance, the waiting list for student support services can be lengthy due to high demand – evidence of the severity of the issue on Warwick campus. Additionally, appointments at the on-campus GP surgery are short and have to be made on the day. A more proactive approach on behalf of the University in advertising the services it offers may help to make guidance more accessible to victims.

The waiting list for student support services can be lengthy due to high demand – evidence of the severity of the issue on Warwick campus.

A further complaint may be the inadequate support for issues surrounding online harassment, which was highlighted in the Universities UK report released last month. In addition to instances of stalking and ‘revenge porn’, people’s physical appearance can often be the target of internet trolls, with some studies going as far as to say that emotional abuse is at least as damaging as physical abuse.

Although recent reports have highlighted large inadequacies in disciplinary procedures and support services for survivors of sexual violence, the university does provide a diverse range of options including referral to a local specialist service if they are unable to meet your needs.

Warwick SU Welfare and Campaigns Officer, and sexual violence survivor, Chloe Wynne offers the following advice to students: “If this happened to a student I would recommend that they get help from a local provider at the moment, such as CRASAC or Blue Sky Centre in Warwick. If you come to the advice centre in the SU we can help you with the academic stuff, getting mitigating circumstances. If you wanted to go further than that and take action against the perpertrator, I would still recommend the University over the police, but it’s ultimately up to the survivor.”