Women's Council Motion Template

Security in Colleges

CUSU Women's Union notes:

i) The number of reported attacks on Cambridge students has grown steadily over the past 2 years, particularly in the cases of women students being attacked within and near college residences.

ii) Students in off-site college residences are most likely to experience an attack or break-in.

iii) In many cases colleges have not devised appropriate emergency strategies for students who are attacked in or near college residences.

iv) Where colleges do take action, it is usually in the form of limited warnings given out to female students.

v) The Women's Union have been working with the Parkside Police on a ‘be aware not afraid' campaign, which aims to keep students safe without fear or use of a ‘victim' ideology.

CUSU Women's Union believes:

i) Colleges have a duty of care to students and appropriate safety precautions must be taken to ensure student safety.

ii) Any strategies or precautions taken by the college must be communicated directly to students so that they are aware of procedure in the case of an attack.

iii) It is imperative that colleges stop targeting women students only about matters of personal safety, and it is unacceptable for colleges to scaremonger female students into not leaving college grounds at night unless in male company.

CUSU Women's Union resolves:

i) To urge College Women's Officers to run college-based ‘be aware not afraid' in colleges which have had recent security problems.

ii) To run regular self-defence classes organised and subsidised by the Women's Union across the year.

Proposed: Charly Boardman (Caius JCR)

Seconded: Danielle Ireland-Piper (Emmanuel MCR)