By Madeline Sidgwick, Senior News Editor
TW: Sexual assault, rape, trauma, PTSD, and violence against women.
Over a Diet Coke at the Armstrong Gun, I met with Molly Hanning, the founder of Academics Against Assault (AAA) and Royal Holloway Masters Student. Our conversation covered many bases including the origin story of AAA, Molly’s personal experiences, and building the group on a national level – including a trip to Parliament. Molly is truly an inspiring woman and I extend my greatest thanks to her for such a productive and insightful conversation.
How did AAA begin?
Academics Against Assault began after Molly was raped in her first year of university and found it “hard to gather any support at all.” In reflecting on her experience, she recognised a clear lack of accessible support on university campuses and felt compelled to create change. She explained that much of her PTSD manifested as avoidance, but one day, while packing makeup at work, the alliteration “Academics Against Assault” came to her. From the outset, prevention was central to AAA’s mission, though Molly acknowledged that too often “prevention falls into the controversial,” making the work both necessary and challenging.
What was it like working with Royal Holloway when establishing and getting support for the group?
“Initially, a positive start with good correspondence” from the university. Molly then noted that once a particular member of, ‘helpful and communicative’, staff moved on from Royal Holloway, “communication went downhill”. Dr Nick Barratt was appointed as Executive Director of Student Journey at the university in June 2023. Molly claims that she received and still receives “no responses” from Barratt when it comes to Academics Against Assault. Most questionable however, was Barratt’s willingness to comment on a BBC article that featured Molly’s story, in September 2025. Barratt told the BBC that they (RHSU) “understand the profound impact that experiences such as Molly’s can have” and are “committed to listening with care and responding with integrity”.
“I felt almost dismissed personally,” Molly told me. I asked Molly what she thought had provoked this dismissive reaction from the university. “It is because what happened to me was off-campus. The uni is a business that is, unfortunately, not responsible for you (…)I was seen as an added finance (…) a student that had fallen through the cracks”. Molly has combated this negative response through belief in that “if you get criticism, that is how you know you are doing something right”.
How has it been working with other universities?
“The main struggle on a national level is credibility”. AAA is now officially registered as a Community Interest Company (CIC). Molly cited this as a huge achievement for the group. This registered credibility will aid AAA in continuing their work across the country.
How have you found the student response to your training and focus groups?
“Amazing, especially from the male sports groups”. AAA has had great attendance to its workshops, specifically the sessions focussed on bystander attention. Students are “all for it” and “really recognise what societies need”.
Molly emphasised the importance of “Shifting the mindsets of young men”.
What have been your highlights and lowlights of being involved in AAA?
“The biggest high is seeing the impact that AAA has had”. Molly has also been invited to Downing Street with Glamour and participated in an LBC call in on the new Government Violence against Women and Girls Strategy.
“I would say a low has been learning my own boundaries”, when so many people come to you. Molly has learned on the job how to build sustainable boundaries for herself, “as a woman it feels you should have the answer to everything, so I have learnt that it is okay to not have an answer”.
It can also be frustrating when it is difficult to “not (be) given a seat at the needed table all of the time”.
Where would you like to see AAA in the future?
“Now, looking for funding is the focus” in order to develop and make “our reach and impact” even bigger. AAA is all about education and “working to prevent loopholes in legislation on sex education in colleges” is a priority.“It is all about education expansion, and the UK should be leading on this”.
Molly emphasised the importance of continuing the work of AAA after she graduates. “We all saw Adolescence, it is scary to think about what that generation is watching online”, this makes organizations like AAA more essential than ever. Specifically, “the commentary on the Sarah Everard case revealed a lot about attitudes towards rape culture and women”.For this reason “AAA will continue to work on prevention and education for our generation and the ones below”.
Follow AAA on Instagram @academicsagainstassault