Wednesday, May 1Royal Holloway's offical student publication, est. 1986

Tag: Sexual Assault

#ThisGirlCan Fight Back
9Mar By Louisa WicksNo Comments
Sports & Socs

#ThisGirlCan Fight Back

After last year’s #MeToo campaign, it is clear that women all over the world have grown tired of being silenced. The Harvey Weinstein accusations have encouraged women to share their stories and call out those responsible. But, this global movement has not just been restricted to the entertainment industry. On the 24 January 2018, a former physician for the USA Gymnastics National Team was sentenced to 40 to 175 years in prison after being accused by over 150 women of sexual assault. Amongst Larry Nassar’s accusers were former team members and Olympic champions including Gabby Douglas, Aly Raisman and Simone Biles. But, this was not just restricted to the USA gymnastics team; Nassar was also a faculty member at Michigan State University. Similar accusations have come from students of the u...
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Silent Until Now
17Jan By Michele TheilNo Comments
Culture & Literature, Film & TV

Silent Until Now

Trigger Warning: Sexual Assault Rape is despicable. That is a statement that can’t ever be disputed. In the wake of allegations against such high-profile people like Harvey Wienstein, Louis C.K and Kevin Spacey and the widely-popular #metoo campaign, there are more people than ever who are able to speak up about what has happened to them. Unfortunately, despite the progressive and welcoming atmosphere we find ourselves in, men who have been sexually assaulted continue to be silenced and are treated poorly by charities and police. With a new documentary from BBC Three, men are openly speaking up about their sexual assault experiences in order to help lift the stigma from such a prominent issue in society. The documentary is called Male Rape: Breaking the Silence, an homage to those th...
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28Jan By No Comments
Opinion

It’s Time to Consent

Watching Frozen for the millionth time, I’m still surprised that Kristoff asks Anna whether he may kiss her. Expecting the hero to seize a victory smooch, I realised we’ve long forgone consent because we’re not used to seeing or asking for it. Here was a Disney film portraying consent for a kiss, when 55 years ago the kiss in Sleeping Beauty was metaphor to obscure the character’s rape. Our popular culture, which so heavily socialises us, has brushed over the need for consent. We’re all given Sex Ed. at primary school, and talking about sex becomes as ordinary as a DFS sofa sale. So it’s disappointing that university students find drunken hook-ups less awkward than talking about consent. It’s defined as “agreeing by choice and having the freedom and capacity to make that choice.” ...
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30Oct By No Comments
News

Police Investigating Sexual Assault outside Medicine

Reported in the early hours of the morning during fresher’s week, Surrey Police are investigating a case of sexual assault outside of the Royal Holloway venue Medicine. According to the Police, on the 26th of September, a woman in her 20s left the club and was reportedly approached by two men. The woman, who was taking a phone call at the time, had her phone taken from her by one of the men, who then ended the call. The second man then took hold of the woman by her wrist and attempted to push her into a nearby car. The woman went to get out of the car but found the door locked. She asked for it to be unlocked and was then able to leave. The first man has been described as white, in his mid-20’s, about 5 feet and 7 inches tall, of skinny build with a shaven head and was wearing a cap bac...
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