Campus Safety Audit to be conducted by students

Campus Safety Audit to be conducted by student groups

The international human rights and anti-violence campaign ‘Thursdays in Black’ is being re-launched today by student executives around New Zealand, with many students’ associations also participating in a campus safety audit survey.

“Thursdays in Black is a campaign led by the Tertiary Women’s Focus Group and is designed to raise awareness about the prevalence of rape and violence in New Zealand society” said Sophia Blair, National Women’s Rights Officer for the New Zealand Union of Students’ Associations.

“Higher education for many people is the chance to learn new skills, explore new ideas and learn about the world. Everyone deserves to be able to achieve their learning potential within a safe and secure environment, however unfortunately this is not always the case,” said Blair.

“Students studying in libraries late after dark often have to face walking across a poorly lit campus at night. And while some institutions do have harassment policies in place, some do not disseminate their policies widely or do not clearly define what harassment actually is which can inhibit the ability to address issues when they arise,” said Blair.

“TWFG representatives on campuses across New Zealand will be conducting safety audits of their university, polytechnic or institute of technology’s safety, analysing the physical campus environment as well as their respective harassment policies,” said Blair.

“TWFG looks forward to working with tertiary education institutes and community groups to ensure that our campuses are inclusive and safe places for all students in New Zealand,” concluded Blair.

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