The Students Working With “Love and Power”, A Charity That Wants To Dismantle Sexism

This past Hallowe’en, Students Against Sexual Harassment & Assault (SASHA) Society at the University of Leeds joined forces with with students in Bath, Plymouth, LJMU and Liverpool to mark the closing of a revealing student-led survey, designed with Love and Power, a UK-based charity of feminists ‘working together to build the power needed to dismantle sexism.’ The survey’s focus was on illuminating the student experiences of sexual harassment and assault.

‘We dressed up in Halloween costumes, held posters with some of the survey’s initial findings, and ‘treated’ our university, inviting them to meet and discuss the survey’s full findings. The Harassment & Misconduct team at Leeds, have listened to and treated our concerns surrounding sexual violence at university with the utmost respect.’

Liv Dennings, President of SASHA

A full report of the findings will be released this month, however initial findings, unfortunately, show:

• Nearly 90% of students have faced at least one form of sexual harassment 
• Over 60% of students have experienced sexual assault 
• 58% of student sexual assault survivors were assaulted by another student at their university
• University support services only reach 14% of sexual assault survivors
• Nearly 40% of students say that they have no understanding of what to expect from a uni sexual misconduct investigation
• Over 50% of sexual assault survivors had at least one assault happen in a uni bar or club

If you want to find out more about the survey, or SASHA, or indeed, both, then head to their instagram page: @sasha_uol for more information about their team, their missions, and upcoming socials!