These statistics are damning for Cardiff, but this doesn’t mean that change cannot be made.
The University has prided itself on its zero tolerance approach to sexual Violence, and I do believe that we could get to this point which is why I have authored a proposal directly to the university titled ‘Empathy in Action: A Proposal for Comprehensive Reform in the Treatment of Sexual Violence Victims’.
This motion, as suggested in the title, will focus on victims treatment, on increasing punishments for students who are found to of sexually assulted, for the currents systems to be investigated, and for systems to be put in place to actively support victims in their healing process aswell as others.
This proposal will be available on the Womens Officer Instagram page, @womensofficercsu and hopefully on the SU webpage.
This, however, is only the start. Students should not have to be victims, Sexual Violence is a larger societal issue, but Cardiff can do its part on finding proactive preventative measures to ensure that students are safe.
These may include: compulsory bystander and consent training, encouraging a culture of responsibility; promoting of consent culture that empasises the importance of clear, enthusiastic consent in relationships which stats in orientation progrannes and goes further throughout students time at cardiff; establishing further community partnerships to collaborate with the local government and businesses to address sexual violence across cardiff as a whole, and support and introduce preventative measures across campus.
The most important part of this is for there to be consistent climate surveys, and constant open communication with students, policies will only work when they are matching student experiences, and transparency is the way forward.
I look forward to seeing how Cardiff improves, as the proverb goes ‘The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.’
By moving forward with empathy and transparency we can see a Cardiff we can be proud of
Mistakes have been made, but these don’t have to continue - by moving forward with empathy and transparency we will see a Cardiff that we can be proud of.