What would you like the Union to do?
We would like the union bar staff to complete Good Night Out training and accreditation as we believe it will improve student and staff safety within the student union bars. The training has been developed in collaboration with the NUS and has been running since 2014 to address the fact sexual harassment is prevalent within student communities across the UK. It is an independent initiative who have facilitated training to 20+ London universities including Queen Mary University and King’s College London; they offer policy suggestions, training, posters and support. We believe that committing to be a good night out accredited union will make bar staff feel better equipped and will make the student population feel safer within these environments.
Why would you like to do this?
The issue of sexual harassment and violence in further and higher education is a pressing one; one in which parliamentarians have recently shed light on – publishing a research briefing on this very matter in February 2022. Data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows that between March 2018-2020, students in England and Wales were over three times more likely than average to have experienced sexual assault. UCL was on Everyone’s Invited Schools and Universities List (May 2022) and we believe rape culture, sexual harassment and violence is a present concern on our campus. This ranges from serious cases of sexual assault to micro-aggressions, all of which are damaging to students. We would like to take steps to ensure these issues are eliminated within our institution, for the benefit of everyone. One step would be ensuring that there is specific and thorough training provided discusses sexual harassment and assault in depth. Overall, demonstrating a commitment to upskill staff and contributing to broader positive social change on campus.
How will this affect students?
A commitment to giving staff a 2.5hr training (online or in-person facilitation) and distribution of Good Night Out materials will signal to the student community that the student union is taking active steps – facilitated by experts – to ensure the safety and welfare of students. Further from this, it shows a strong understanding and desire to help protect and work with marginalised groups within the UCL community, who may otherwise be overlooked. According to the Good Night Out information on SU accreditation, 93% of bar staff, security and supervisors said they felt very knowledgeable and skilled after being Good Night Out-trained and 100% of the participants said the workshop was relevant to their role. Hence, it is not only beneficial to students to know that if something does unfortunately occur within an SU bar, the staff are well trained; it also means bar staff and others who work within union venues feel better prepared in such situations and do not themselves become overwhelmed.