Experts speaking at a recent panel discussion on stalking and harassment at the Oxford Union were surprised to find only one student in attendance.
The event, held on Tuesday, was due to feature experts on the topic, led by Jennifer Perry, who has worked on e-crime since 2005 and wrote the UK Guidelines on Digital Risks for victims of domestic violence and stalking in 2012.
Among the other speakers was Dr. Emma Short, Director at the Cyberstalking Research Centre, and Harry Fletcher, a Parliamentary campaigner and ex-Assistant General Secretary of NAPO. Alys Key, a student at Somerville who was the only person to attend the event, said in a public Facebook status, “Sadly, due to a lack of attendees (I was the only person there), the event was cancelled at the last minute.
“I managed to chat to the speakers (who were having conciliatory refreshments at the Union’s expense).
“We ended up having an in-depth discussion about the problems facing women today in Oxford and beyond.”
She told Cherwell, “I think that the low attendance was due to a combination of factors. Firstly, there’s the obvious bad press around the Union at the moment which might have led some people to think it wasn’t really an appropriate space for this discussion.
“Then there was the organisation of the event itself; I only found out about it a couple of days beforehand from a Facebook Event. Only about 20 people had clicked ‘attending’ and looking through the names it was obvious these were all Union committee members.
“There was also the Guild-Union garden party going on at the same time, and use of other rooms in the building meant the panel discussion was to be held in the TV room – somewhere I’ve never been before and which feels quite out-of-the-way.
“When I actually found the event, I was the only person there and one of the speakers told me that they were going to have to cancel.”
She added, “I don’t think the poor attendance necessarily shows anything about Oxford students’ views on sexual violence, though one does have to wonder how much the poor turnout was due to the Union’s reputation at the moment.”
A spokesperson for the Union told Cherwell, “Due to a lack of uptake, the Union decided to reschedule the event for Michaelmas 2014.
“This was agreed by all parties involved –we remain committed to offering platforms through which we can combat issues of sexual violence, both within the University and beyond.”
This comes in a week where the OUSU Women’s Campaign has urged students wearing sub fusc for exams to wear a white ribbon, pledging, “never to commit, condone, or remain silent about violence against women, and to stand with the survivors of gender violence.”
