We ran a series of workshops with Reading Student’s Union welfare officers

‍The aim of the sessions were to give students the necessary knowledge and skills to ensure the safety and well-being of other students during their social events, and to implement victim focussed, trauma informed responses to inappropriate behaviours and disclosures of harm.

The first part of the workshop focused on recognising incidents of harm within the student community. We covered the various forms of harm, with particular emphasis on sexual violence and spiking. We looked at how sexual violence and spiking takes form in the student community specifically looking at the dangers of drink spiking, especially during pre-drinks and house parties, where students are particularly vulnerable. We ensures that students were aware that adding more alcohol to someone else’s drink than what they consented to is considered spiking. It was good to see students reflecting on their previous experiences as freshers and how they are going to ensure the culture in their societies and sports teams is safe and inclusive, for the benefit of future students.

To create safer social events, we gave students techniques on how to plan and manage social events effectively. The focus was on routine measures to ensure an inclusive culture prior to the event and how to have a proactive position against harm whilst the event is taking place.

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I found The Egalitarian’s workshops really informative. Sometimes when you go into a session, you may think you’re already clued up on a lot of topics. However, after completing the session, I realised there were so many things that I didn’t know. Things such as the difference between sexual assault and sexual harassment, or what the most common ways of spiking were, to identifying domestic abuse; these were all topics I had a general idea of but didn’t really have an in-depth understanding of. Many of the issues discussed not only related to my professional role but also were beneficial for my personal life. This training is definitely essential for everyone in terms of spreading awareness on these matters. - RSU Activities and Opportunities Officer

Andy, Venue Manager

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May 2024

We were excited to return to the University of Reading to deliver training workshops for the newly elected social secretaries of Reading Students’ Union societies. These sessions focused on equipping students with the knowledge and confidence to create safer, more inclusive social events.

We began by exploring risks within student social life, particularly spiking and sexual violence. Many students were unaware that adding extra alcohol to someone’s drink without their consent is a form of spiking, highlighting the need for greater awareness. It was encouraging to see them reflect on their own experiences as freshers and consider how they could positively shape their society’s culture moving forward.

To help prevent harm, we shared practical strategies for planning and managing events safely. This included fostering a consent-based drinking culture, ensuring participation in drinking games and activities remains completely voluntary. We also trained students to recognise warning signs, intervene safely, and escalate concerns to the Students’ Union or university when necessary.

Each participant received fact sheets and victim support resources, both in print and digital formats, to ensure continued access to key information. The training encouraged open discussion and reflection, empowering social secretaries to take an active role in shaping safer, more responsible student events.

September 2024

We headed back to Reading Students’ Union in September 2024 to deliver workshops to their Welfare Officers and student Lacrosse and Netball teams ahead of the new academic year!

After delivering our workshops to the welfare officers of RSU student societies last year, we returned to deliver this session to even more students. Across 2 days we delivered 9 workshops to over 100 students to discuss how to deal with first disclosures of harm and understanding different trauma responses.

We had a large level of correspondence with RSU’s Welfare Officer and Activities and Opportunities Officer to create a bespoke workshop that will assist the welfare officers of over 150 student’s societies and teams to be victim focussed, adopt trauma-informed responses to disclosures of harmful incidents, including but not limited to spiking, sexual violence and hate crimes.

We opened up the conversation with student welfare officers regarding how to respond to disclosures of harm as an effective ally. By firstly confirming exactly what constitutes these different kinds of harmful behaviours, we then looked at the current university processes and ways in which students can report. We applied this information and created unique guidance for officers on how to signpost victims to university reporting mechanisms using empowering and validating language. After understanding the different trauma responses, we applied our knowledge and skills to real life scenarios from students in our community through engaging group work activities.

We’re very proud to continue expanding our partnership with RSU, who are leading the way in implementing victim-led, trauma-informed responses for their students.

If you’re part of a student’s union or university and would like us to work with your staff and/or students on creating a Safe Place, get in touch. Find out more about the work we do with the education sector here.

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