A case involving a student being “failed” by the Harassment and Welfare services at the University of York has driven her to transfer Universities, and spurred on students and YUSU to scrutinise the provision for student Welfare at York.
The anonymous student suffered criminal abuse, including having bleach poured in her eyes and being hit, at the hands of her partner, but when she complained to multiple people, including her department, his department and the University of York Harassment Network she was ‘turned away’, ‘met with silence’ and ‘not referred to the police or any counselling services’.
She commented: “After [the abuse] had happened I decided to contact York Uni for help & advice around the situation, and as I was unable to find information that related to abuse from a partner or ex-partner I followed the guidelines for “harassment and bullying”: I followed the advice given and sent and email to one of the suggested “complaint co-ordinators”.
“I wrote an in-depth email to the head of my Ex’s department (who was a woman, and therefore I for some reason assumed would be more sympathetic to my situation.) giving more detail than I’ve given you here, and waited for a reply. According to the University website complaints should be dealt with as follows: If you report harassment to the University you can expect the following:
to receive a prompt response in line with the principles of the Code of Practice on Harassment, and to be listened to, taken seriously and treated sensitively.
“Unfortunately for myself neither of these things happened, because I never even received a reply.
Even when I spoke to my own academic supervisor, she clearly had no idea what processes she could go through to help me, she implied that they don’t exist within the university infrastructure.”
The student “felt unable to continue at the University of York” as she felt “unsafe around her ex” and that she “had to avoid the University campus”.
She has subsequently transferred to another University, which “does have the services required to deal with the case” and has “already given [her] great support”.
When Vision spoke to YUSU, they were ‘shocked’ that the University had not brought this case to their attention. They emphasised that YUSU does have the resources to deal with this; links with the local police department and a sexual abuse referral centre. The Union also started a ‘Call it in’ campaign, encouraging students to report crime to the police earlier this term.
YUSU pointed out that the student should have been referred to the police, and that it is difficult for YUSU and the University to act as they are not allowed to investigate crimes.
However, there are services in place, at least in terms of the Union, that the University should be referring students to in times of trouble.
The Union found it “worrying” that this case occurred and were “appalled” that the student was “failed” by the University. They reiterated that all supervisors have a handbook, with relevant information in about how to deal with student welfare, and that her supervisor should have referred her on to the police or the provost. The lack of reply from Harassment was also found to be “shocking”
Students are meeting with the Equality & Diversity Office next week to discuss the issue.
If anyone is affected by this story, please email [email protected], [email protected] or talk to their college Provost.
This isn’t the only recent case of domestic violence on campus and, I fear, it probably won’t be the last. I recently had to rescue a friend in the middle of the night from her halls of residence because her boyfriend had been violent, and she was cowering in a disabled toilet in her accommodation block.
The security problems of being attacked by someone living in the same halls were suddenly made apparent when I went to fetch her out. I had no way of getting into her building, and there was no button on the keypad outside the main door to contact the porters. It was very lucky that someone else in the building was on their way out, and I was able to get in and get her out. She isn’t close to her flatmates, and either they were all out, or nobody felt that they could intervene. Things could easily have become far worse.
I do also feel that there isn’t enough information available about domestic violence that isn’t necessarily sexual in nature – I did ring Nightline that evening in an attempt to get signposted to someone who could help, but the person on the phone only seemed equipped to ask me how my friend and I were feeling. As my friend doesn’t want to press charges (she still cares about the man who hurt her), and there was no advice from the university apart from a suggestion to call the police, I only managed to find out about York’s domestic violence charity IDAS after contacting the Open Door.
This isn’t something that only happens in married life or out in the “real world”, and the university needs to step up its game and provide as much information on violence in relationships as it does on drink spiking on nights out.