It Still Happens Here

Image: Jade Correa

Would you know where to turn if you experienced sexual violence? I suspect most people wouldn’t. I spend a fair bit of my time talking and writing about sexual violence, and for a long time I wasn’t sure where to go, either – to be honest, I’m still not sure I’m completely certain. And there’s another, more troubling question that links to my first. Would you turn to anyone at all if you experienced sexual violence? Do you trust that your claim would be taken seriously by your college, the University, even the police? I certainly wouldn’t be surprised if your answer to any of those questions was no.

It’s these issues, among many others, that It Happens Here Durham is trying to tackle as it works with the University, particularly the Sexual Violence Task Force. We’re a relatively new group, forming with only two members in 2012; we’ve only been a society for a year.  Nevertheless, we have huge aims for Durham. Our three key goals are for the University to have a transparent sexual violence policy, better signposting for those seeking support, and mandatory training for members of staff, particularly those whose jobs require a degree of pastoral care.

The first goal brings us back quite nicely to my original question. It is clear that sexual violence is happening at university at an alarming rate: the most recent NUS report on the subject stated that one in seven female students experience serious sexual or physical assault at some point in their university life. Of those students, a total of 14% report their assault to their institution or the police, with the remaining students not reporting because they felt embarrassed or ashamed, or were worried that they would be blamed. The impression I get at Durham in particular is that the lack of a clear sexual violence policy, or a guide on where to go, might also be a significant issue. With the stigma that already surrounds sexual violence, might it not be discouraging to have no clear idea of who to go to for help?

A clear policy is something that should interest the University and its students alike. As well as providing a better procedure for dealing with victims of sexual violence, it might too offer ways of dealing with the perpetrators. Unfortunately, we live in a country as a whole where it is often the victims who are uprooted from their university halls, or are forced to find a different route to lectures, for fear of meeting their attacker on campus. It should be the responsibility of each university to ensure that both parties remain separated during any investigation of sexual violence, and it should not be up to the complainant to take extra measures to make sure that this is the case.

Policies take a long time to make, and the controversies and the ins and outs surrounding sexual violence makes the process more complicated and time-consuming. But there is still more the university can do in the meantime. It Happens Here’s second goal – to secure better signposting for victims of sexual violence – is perhaps the easiest to achieve. After all, everyone has the Nightline number on the back of their campus cards, and it has its own little section on DUO and the University website. It takes some searching, but mental health resources, too, are quite readily available, with the counselling service in particular being advertised through emails. Why, then, do sexual violence resources not have this same status? Considering the impact it has on students’ wellbeing, their mental health, and their academic performance, surely it is in the University’s best interests to provide a couple of links, maybe even a few phone numbers?

That’s what we’re trying to do at the moment. We’d like to see a section on DUO with the contact details of Rape Crisis and clinics in the local area. Ideally, we’d love to run a poster campaign around the Student Union, the library and other University buildings with details of how to get help. In the meantime, our own website has resources for anyone who needs them, including much-needed details of how to help a friend.

Finally, our third goal is about training. It’s about raising awareness of sexual violence and how to deal with it within the integral structures of the university. We believe that mandatory training should take place for anyone in a position where they might be approached by someone who has experienced sexual violence. This way, it will help reduce the chain of people involved in a single enquiry, ensuring greater privacy for the victim and decreasing the delay. Our opinion is that education on sexual violence should form part of everyone’s initiation into the University, too: after all, we have to complete a plagiarism tutorial and sit through police safety talks, so why shouldn’t sexual violence deserve a slot, too?

There will always be the cries of ‘but I know what consent is! I am not a perpetrator!’ of course; but equally, most Durham students would know what does and doesn’t constitute a fire hazard, and we still sit through fifteen minutes of fire safety talks during Freshers’ Week. If not to teach students something new about sexual violence – although you’ll be surprised to realise how much more there is to learn – then such talks serve to raise awareness of the issue, at least. Consent workshops will never be popular amongst the entire student body – although the ones we have run over the past year have been happily successful – but a talk on what sexual violence is, and how not to be a perpetrator, can hardly set one back in life.

Since I joined It Happens Here, I have realised how much more the University still needs to do for sexual violence. I am proud to have been part of a campaign that has raised awareness over the past few years, following the ever-growing trajectory of wider media coverage and, lately, even gaining traction in our own student publications. It seems that the student body is finally waking up to an issue more dangerous than river safety, more prevalent than muggings in the street. The University should wake up too. If you have experienced sexual violence, or even if you know someone who has, then you already know that Durham is much less safe than it supposes itself to be. I hope that our student campaign, however small it may be, can continue to work with the University and the Sexual Violence Task Force to provide a safer and more reliable space in which to study and live.

For more information on It Happens Here and what we do, please find us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter (@DU_HappensHere) or visit our website: www.ithappensheredurham.wordpress.com

Originally published on Palatinate.

10 Ways You Know You're A Durham Student

1.) Anything longer than a five minute walk feels like a ten mile hike.

2.) You use an acronym at least once in every conversation.

3.) You’ve said ‘I don’t even care if I don’t get a first any more’ with the knowledge that you’re definitely lying.

4.) You’ve vowed never to step foot in Klute again, only to be found there dancing to ‘That’s Amore’ at closing time a week later.

5.) You’ve developed thighs of steel from all the hills you have to walk up every day.

6.) You’ve spent the entire day in your room because if you went anywhere else, it’d be too much effort to come back for lunch.

7.) At least half the people you see on the walk to your lecture are wearing stash.

8.) You live in awe of the few people who have completed a full-college bar crawl because you can’t even be bothered to walk up past Collingwood.

9.) You’ve blagged your way through a conversation at a law event just to get to the free food.

10.) You’ve met at least one person who apologises, unprovoked, for being from Hatfield. 

Originally published on Her Campus.

Meet Durham University's Netball Captain, Katie Boon!

Photograph: Katie Boon

Have you ever thought about having a go at netball? It’s a popular female sport at Durham University, with regular training hours and a lot of commitment: the university team train five days a week, and there’s also the regular games to take into account, too. This week, we spoke to Katie Boon, a third year Geography student and the captain of Durham University Netball Team, about her experience in Team Durham and her expectations for the sport in the future.

Katie started playing sports at a young age, encouraged into it by her parents, who had also encouraged her two older brothers to take part in sporting activities. “By the time I was old enough, it made my mum’s life easier if I was taken to any activity they were involved in, and so that was the start of my sporting career.” Early on, she played football, cricket, netball and hockey, as well as swimming and gymnastics, before settling, at university, on netball. “I made the decision to remain in team sports as I enjoyed it, it gave me a reason to escape from academic work, it was a chance to bring out my competitive edge, and, more than anything, it gave me the opportunity to meet different people and personalities.” Taking a break from her academic studies seems to be a key reason for her involvement in sport, as she stresses: “I can safely say I am not sure what I would do if I didn’t have sport to escape from the stress of university work.”

Katie has been playing netball since her first year at Durham, and she never planned to run for captain of the team. “There was a large element of fear of being able to juggle a sport that trains every weekday, my degree and also responsibility for fifty girls,” she says. “However, after deliberating with the previous Captain, it was clear I was going thrive in the role and gain great satisfaction out of leading DUNC. In the end, it was an opportunity I would have been silly to let myself miss out on and I have no regrets in my decision.” When asked how she juggles captaincy and a degree, she’s very clear that “organisation is the key.” She also praises the rest of her team: “Without a reliable network of executive committee, captains and friends my job would be a lot harder.” What does she enjoy most about her role? “Seeing the hard work of the girls’ pay off and the influence that my captaincy has had on that. For me, it has been great to get to know all the girls on a personal level. As training times differ amongst the squad, the role of captain has initiated a level of involvement with all teams and individuals.”

Moving on to wider issues, I ask Katie how she thinks her sport is received in comparison to popular sports like men’s football. “When you include college netball as well as university netball, we are the largest participating female sport at Durham. This means our sport is well known and talked about amongst the Durham scene.” She feels that socials are a big part of the team’s integration with other sports. “Throughout the year we have joint socials with other sports, and this has definitely helped us become more integrated with these teams and give them an insight to what we dedicate to netball and contribute to Team Durham.” She adds: “recently, another male sports team has approached us with interest in playing a charity netball match, so there must be a level of acceptation for our sport if they are willing to join in themselves!”

When asked about whether she thinks women’s sport is becoming more popular, Katie’s answer is positive: “women’s participation in sport is definitely more prominent in the media these days.” She recently did an internship at a company that organised sports leagues, particularly netball. “It was incredible to see how this company could enable women of any ability to continue playing or return back to a sport they may have given up years ago. There is definitely an element of fear and embarrassment amongst women when getting involved in sport compared to men, but the growing companies which promote beginner team sports encourages women to get involved, making it more popular.” She adds, “I would like to think prejudice against women’s sport is lessening. However, I do believe there will always be an element of prejudice that exists. “It is an aspect of our sporting world which will continue to lessen with time as new generations are born into a society where female sports feature more greatly in the media. However, I don’t think it is something we will ever fully eradicate based on the history of male sports.”

Katie had one final comment for anyone considering joining the sporting world. “If I can give any advice, it is that all girls should get involved in some sort of sport, whatever it may be. No matter what ability you are, there is always something out there to suit you and there will be another girl just as nervous as you are to step out of their comfort zone and try something new. Put in the work to find what suits you and just go for it - I promise you won’t look back.”

Originally published on Her Campus.

Mental Health Awareness: A Durham student's experience of anxiety at University

20% of university students consider themselves to have a mental health problem. That’s according to a NUS study from 2013, which also revealed that 13% of those students admitted to having suicidal thoughts. According to Heads of University Counselling Services, around 5-10% of students attend counselling, too.

For someone suffering from a mental health issue, the figures aren’t comforting. The stigma still associated with mental illness means that people in general are often unwilling to share their experiences with others, despite counselling services often encouraging them to be open about their illness. If no one talks about it, how can the 20% of students cited above get support from each other? Peer support is particularly important for those suffering from mental illness, especially at university, because it shows them that they are not alone. It also helps to have a friend who can help you when you’re away from home.

This was definitely the case for Anna*, a third-year student at Durham who talked to Her Campus Durham about her experience of mental illness at university. ‘My anxiety started just before my second year of university, and has gradually intensified over the years. My mom is my main source of help, having been through mental illness herself, and so being away from her at university means that I have to try and seek other support. I’m quite used to bottling up my feelings until they explode – usually into a fit of crying – and so it’s really, really important for me to talk to people about how I’m feeling. Luckily, I found that support in one of my friends, who’s dealt with her own issues in the past.’

Anna has not yet used the university counselling service, because she doesn’t feel that she suits it. ‘I feel like I would be taking up valuable time by using the service. Some days I feel absolutely fine, and I feel like if I was to go to counselling on one of those days, there would literally be no point. I feel like there are students with far worse problems than me who would benefit more from the service, especially when mental health resources are stretched as it is. At the moment, I’m just trying to cope on my own and teach myself ways of stopping the anxiety, and of course talking to my friends and family.’

Her coping methods are quite refined, and set in a strict routine that she tries to follow. ‘I made myself a strict timetable because constantly preoccupying my mind helps me to stop thinking about things that make me anxious. Work actually helps in this way, when I can concentrate. I also use art a lot – I have a therapy colouring book that actually does help, and I try to set time aside to draw whenever I can. When I’m feeling overwhelmed, I rely on self-care, usually after a good cry on the phone to my mom. I have a box of things that make me feel happy and recall nice memories, and I spent time with that until I calm down.’

So how does she deal with day-to-day life during periods of high anxiety? ‘Sometimes I get so scared that my anxiety is going to be bad that I physically can’t move from my bed. I’m too worried that any action could trigger it. It takes some time to reason with myself before I can move. Occasionally I get distracted by bad thoughts in lectures and end up missing out on half of the content, but I’m working on stopping that – I use my laptop to take notes as it helps me focus better and has websites I can browse to distract myself from those thoughts.’

University life is already stressful enough for the majority of us, especially now, when deadlines are looming and work is piling up. It’s impossible to imagine the added difficulty of dealing with mental illness on top of that. Her Campus Durham is grateful to Anna for providing an insight into living with mental illness at university, but it’s also made us aware that things need to change to help students in the future. There is a lot of help available within the university for those who need it, but it’s often the steps to getting this help that are scary for someone seeking it. We need to fight the stigma of mental illness and make Durham a safe space for people to talk about their problems and get the help they need.

If you need to talk to someone, Durham University has a wide range of resources you can use

• Nightline: Contact Nightine by phone, their number can be found on the back of your campus card and the DUO homepage.Alternatively contact them via IM at http://community.dur.ac.uk/nightline/.They also have Facebook page that you can check out here:https://www.facebook.com/durhamnightline/?fref=ts
• Durham University Counselling Service: 0191 334 2200 (Durham City), or 0191 334 0039 (Queen’s Campus)
• DSU Advice Centre: 0191 334 1775
• Mind National Helpline: 0300 123 3393, or www.mind.org.uk
• SANEline: 0300 304 7000, or www.sane.org.uk

* Names have been changed.

Natasha Carlile and Cara Milton-Edwards: Women in Business Presidents

This week our Campus Celebrities are Durham University's WIB presidents, Natasha and Cara. We wanted to find out what 'Women in Business' is all about and why we need to drive for change. 

You might have seen the debate across social media about women in business. It’s been topical since May this year, when the sixth female FTSE 100 CEO was named as Alison Brittain, the new boss of Premier Inns and Costa Coffee owner Whitbread.

The FTSE 100 index measures the performance of the top 100 companies in the UK. The promotion of Alison Brittain from Lloyds Banking Group to Whitbread means that she’s joined the ranks of the other five women featured in the index. This group of women now make up 6% of the index’s CEOs. Is this progress? We guess so – but not enough.

While it’s amazing that the number of women among the top ranks of company bosses is (very slowly) growing, it’s reasonable to wish for a little more progress a little bit faster. Luckily, there are groups around the UK pushing for this. Durham University Women in Business is one of these groups, working to encourage women in the university to pave their way into the world of business. Her Campus spoke to co-presidents Natasha Carlile and Cara Milton-Edwards for more information about the group.

Why was DUWIB set up?

DUWIB was set up in 2010 with the aim of empowering enterprising students to expand and sharpen their understanding of business and to create an invaluable network for students both during and after their time at Durham.

How many members do you have?

We have a core executive committee of thirteen students and more than 1,000 students signed up to our mailing list.

Tell us about some of your events coming up.

We have a number of networking breakfasts, including those with Citi, JP Morgan and Allen & Overy. We also have a networking evening with Lloyds on 12th November. A full list is available at http://www.duwib.org.uk/events/

Who are some of the people you’ve had do talks or present events in the past?

Last year we had our inaugural ‘Find Your Career Calling’ event, where speakers included Nancy Radford, a midwife turned businesswoman and inspirational speaker, Casey Lam, a former Durham student, Blueprint Winner 2013 and founder of Tophat Teacakes, and Katherine Neill, a former Durham student, currently working as a consultant at Accenture.

What kind of work have your members gone on to do?

Our members go on to a wide variety of career paths, but common choices include banking, consulting and law.

Is the gap between men and women in business closing?

The gap between men and women in business is closing, but it is not a numbers game. Seeing the gap close is about giving men and women equal opportunities in the workplace, from using their different skill sets in different roles, to seeing both genders fully supported in their role within the family.

Do you think there is still a gender imbalance in the workplace?

In certain industries there is most definitely an imbalance, but this works for both genders. In law women are increasingly taking more jobs and yet in finance we still see men dominate. Society needs to encourage women and tell them that they have the skill set to achieve in whatever industry they choose. As businesses increasingly understand that a gender balanced work force will bring them the most success, society needs to catch up with the needs of business. 

What kind of qualities does a woman need to have to succeed in the business world?

Confidence is key. Although certainly a generalisation, women are more likely to be too modest or allow themselves to be held back by self-doubt. An ability to believe in one's own set of skills or to realise that a new set of skills can be easily learnt is a key attribute to continual success for women, in both the beginning and the middle of their careers.

Images: Durham University Women in Business

Originally published on Her Campus.

Ceremonies mark start of students' university career

Image: Tom Banks via The Northern Echo

THOUSANDS of students have been taking part in ceremonies to mark the start of their university career.
More than 6,000 Durham University students formally entered the university as five matriculation ceremonies took place in Durham Cathedral.
The ceremony began at 9.45am with students from St Hild and St Bede, St Mary’s and Van Mildert colleges. The last session started at 4pm with Hatfield, St John’s and Ustinov.
Each ceremony is introduced by the Dean of Durham, and features a speech by the Durham Student Union president.
The new Vice-Chancellor, Professor Stuart Corbridge, addressed the students throughout the day.     
An undergraduate and postgraduate representative from each college signed the matriculation book on behalf of their college, which marks the formal beginning of the students’ university membership.
A student from Josephine Butler College, said: “It’s very special. We looked up and looked around, and while we’ve seen cathedrals before, this is different.”

Originally published in The Northern Echo.