A 20-year-old female student, whose name was lifted due to legal consideration, was told by her university to watch pre-recorded trauma-dealing videos and that going to the police wouldn’t result in any action after being sexually assaulted.
The female student from the University of Sheffield was inappropriately touched by an alleged ‘friend’ of hers in January 2023.
The victim met the perpetrator, a 26-year-old man, through a Students’ Union society.
The event occurred at his apartment after the man offered to walk the girl back home after a night out with a group of friends from that class.
Once there, he offered a back massage as he told her he did this with all his friends.
She trusted him as she thought they were friends until the 26-year-old started touching her inappropriately from her bottom and tried to undress her.
Recalling the event the student said: “I was scared and I just thought if I am asleep, he wouldn’t do anything because I am unconscious, that would be sexual assault, I thought that would make him stop, but it didn’t.
“He knew I was unconscious. I was awake for the whole time and shaking in fear, I could feel his breath on my neck, it was so terrifying.”
The female student contacted the University for help and support after three weeks.
During her session, she said the University’s Student Welfare Team told her: “You can report it to the police if it makes you feel better but realistically, there is almost no chance that anything would happen to him.”
The victim said: “I understand that they wanted me to set my expectations low but the consistency of them emphasising it won’t make any changes, suggesting me not to report it and think realistically made me feel like nothing could be done for me to be safe and I would never get myself back.
“I was hopeless, thinking I had to keep living in fear of seeing him, I was so frustrated and angry that I resorted to self-harm.”
The Welfare team at the University of Sheffield told her to try the following methods:
- Download the SafeZone App
- Report to the police (which they deterred her from doing)
- Talk to the Faculty Wellbeing Advisor (Only three advisors for the entire social science faculty with thousands of students)
- Contact the Student Mental Health, Counselling and Therapies Service (It requires her to take five steps before an appointment)
- Watch an online pre-recorded learning retreat on YouTube called How do we heal from Trauma
- Talk to the GP via University Health Service
“My problem with them is that you have someone who is severely depressed because of sexual assault, and telling her to sign up a form and be on a waiting list is ridiculous,” said the female student.
After waiting for almost a month, the 20-year-old finally talked to her Faculty Wellbeing advisor, who was really helpful, according to her.
She said: “There should be more staff to take care of students’ wellbeing, and there should be more support, you can’t just leave me there to hang to dry.”
In a comment from the University of Sheffield, they said: “The safety of our students is very important to us and we are committed to making our University a safe place to study, work and live.
“We take a victim-led approach to sexual assault cases and ensure that all students have access to appropriate support, which includes listening to what action the victim wants us to take.
“Receiving feedback from our students is important in helping us ensure our services are meeting their needs and expectations and we encourage our students to let us know if they have any concerns to help us improve.”
The 20-year-old said: “I feel I am over it now, but I fear for other people, who tried to get support and never got any, all these girls who have to deal with this by themselves.”
If you need mental health support or are affected by the issue raised in this piece you can contact the SAMARITANS any time, at 116 123.