Somerville student Olivia Conroy has been nominated to take part in a symposium entitled ‘Young people against prostitution and human trafficking’, after her research into mapping human trafficking. The symposium will take place in the Vatican on 14th November, and she is also due to meet the Pope.

Conroy spent a week working for organization RENATE, the ‘Religious in Europe Networking Against Trafficking and Exploitation’ in Albania, during which she interviewed charity and social workers, police and government officials, members of RENATE and those at risk in the community on the topic of trafficking.

She spoke to Cherwell about the situation she found in Albania, commenting, “Human trafficking boomed in the 1990s when communism collapsed and many Albanians fled the country with their newly granted freedom to travel. Thousands of girls were taken in speedboats into Italy alone. This situation became so bad that there is now actually a law that bans anyone from using a speedboat.

“More recently, human trafficking from Albania is orientated towards other Western countries, with girls being taken out of Albania and into the UK, Germany and Switzerland. There is also a growing problem of people being internally trafficked, most commonly affecting children who are being taken to beg on the streets or work for gangs. Since this year Albania has been classed as both a destination country for traffickers as well as being a transit country from Eastern countries into the West.”

Conroy, a third-year biochemist, explained that before her trip she was “naïve” to the scale and complexity of human trafficking. She said, “Human trafficking is an incredibly complicated issue… It is impossible to come up with one solution. Although [the experience] gave me hope to see inspiring people working against such a formidable challenge, it also filled me with grief to get a glimpse of the scale of human trafficking and understand how embedded it is in all our lives. There is the misconception that trafficking only affects women from foreign countries forced into sex work.”

In admitting to having been unaware of the dangers posed by her trip, Conroy explained, “I was in quite a dangerous situation, apparently the traffickers would have been well aware of who I was and why I was there.

“There was a time when I was staying in Shkodër on my own in a vacant hotel, in one of the most dangerous towns in Albania run by gangs… I blazed into Albania thinking that I would be completely safe, but in reality it slowly crept in that I was dealing with incredibly dangerous people.”

Olivia added, “Trafficking is everywhere,” saying, “The UK is the most common destination of women taken from Albania… These traffickers are operating on our streets… We as a community can look out for the signs of trafficking and not make it so easy for them.”

The UK’s National Crime Agency has recently reported that the country saw a 22 per cent rise in the number of ‘potential victims of trafficking for exploitation’ in 2013 compared to 2012, affecting a total of almost 3,000 people, of which 600 were children.

Oxford is not immune to trafficking as in 2013 seven men were convicted of raping and trafficking six girls aged between 11 and 15, though since then a further 50 to 60 young women have since been identified as potential victims of the paedophile ring. The ring is thought to have been based around Cowley Road.

OUSU’s #VeggiePledge campaign launched on Wednesday, aiming to encourage students to turn vegetarian or vegan for the month of November.

Pledgers are invited to take on their own tailor-made ‘Veggie Pledge’, which involves eating vegetarian or vegan food for at least one day a week over the next month, with some pledgers planning on going vegan for the entire month.

OUSU’s Environment and Ethics Officer Xavier Cohen told Cherwell, “We want to show that being veggie and vegan is not only doable, but enjoyable, whilst also highlighting the environmental benefits of consuming less meat and fewer animal products.

“#VeggiePledge is also an intercollegiate competition. The pledgers from the college with the most pledges will win a trip to The Gardeners Arms — Oxford’s veggie and vegan friendly pub — with £100 behind the bar.”

Prospective pledgers are required to post their name, college, and tailor-made pledge on the wall of the campaign’s Facebook group.

Cohen added, “#VeggiePledge is also a collective endeavour, and as such, we’re encouraging people to post photos and recipes. #VeggiePledge finally makes it acceptable to post pictures of food on social media again!”

After Cohen predicted that it would be “exploding on social media” on Wednesday, the total number of pledges made by the end of the day topped 150. Wadham, Balliol, and Worcester led the college charts early on.

The Facebook page also shared statistics about how much land, water and CO2 could be saved by avoiding meat for varying numbers of days per week, claiming that “going veggie” for one day a week saves 29 square-metres of land, 1,611 litres of water, and 8kg of CO2.

A recent study has named Oxford’s OX1 postcode as the worst for bike thefts in the whole country, narrowly beating Cambridge’s CB1 postcode.

Between May 2013 and April this year, 846 bicycle thefts were reported to the police in the central Oxford area, while 781 bikes were reported stolen in Cambridge’s CB1 postcode. The research covered 92,508 bike thefts reported to police, and was conducted using data from data.police.co.uk by John Moss, the developer of the Check That Bike website.

Despite the findings, however, Oxford’s City Council has said that there has been no recent increase in the number of bike thefts reported.

A spokesman explained, “We have received no reports from the police or student representatives about any spike in bike thefts in the city. We would of course help or assist in any inspections but so far there has been no approach to our Streetscene service for such support.”

Thames Valley Police officers, however, have acknowledged the frequency of bicycle theft in and around the city centre, warning Oxfordians that even if you lock your bike up securely using a substantial D-lock, your bike is still at risk, as lock clamps can be used to remove the padlock.

Police guidelines encourage students to re- port bicycle thefts as soon as possible, as officers have access to CCTV cameras in and around the city centre that can be used to identify thieves and increase the chances of your bike being recovered.

Second year historian Joel Nelson told Cherwell, “I’m not surprised that the centre of Oxford is the worst in the country for bike theft — there are so many bikes around!”

The need for increased security measures was made apparent after Cherwell contacted a number of students about bike theft in the city centre.

One first year explained, “Last Friday, having been in Oxford for no more than two weeks, I was both surprised and infuriated to find that my bicycle had already been stolen, in broad daylight, whilst briefly left locked up along Magdalen Street.”

Another fresher at St Catherine’s College related, “My bicycle was stolen within two days of having arrived here. They took everything except my front wheel, which was locked up! I knew that bike theft was a problem in Oxford, but I didn’t imagine I would need to be replacing by bike so soon!”

Meanwhile, Jesus fourth year Emilia Carslaw told Cherwell that she has witnessed several attempted bike thefts around the town centre. She explained, “Several times after coming home from nights out, my friends and I have caught people trying to steal bikes from the rack on Ship Street. They only stopped when we went over and said, ‘they’ve got CCTV cameras here’.”

Moss’ Check That Bike website also has the potential to help Oxford buyers to ensure their second-hand bike has not been stolen before purchasing. By entering the frame number on online, users can access their bike’s history, while the website also allows users to register and recover stolen bikes by allowing victims to cross-check data with potential buyers. 

A REPORT COMMISSIONED by the independent watchdog Healthwatch Oxford, and carried out by Oxford University students, has revealed that more than 20% of male students use the accident and emergency department at the John Radcliffe hospital during their time at Oxford.

A&E attendance in Oxford for the general population is usually between 9-18%, according to the Health and Social Care Information Centre, suggesting Oxford students are more prone to serious accidents or injuries.

The OUSU welfare team told Cherwell that they have been “working with Healthwatch and with the students who compiled this report to consider how best the overuse of A&E can be combatted”. A spokesperson explained, “The key task is to ensure that students know which of the many services they should use in which situation: should it be 999, A&E, the minor injuries unit, the GP, the non-emergency phone number 111, or just self-care.

“Equally important is that, when a student doesn’t need to go to A&E, but they are in a lot of pain, they are able to access interim support, for example by getting advice from a pharmacy or from 111.”

Responding to the report, a Jesus fresher wasn’t surprised by the findings. They commented, “I saw someone knocked over right outside of college on Tuesday, luckily the emergency services were able to provide assistance.”

Meanwhile, a third year Mathematician explained that, after breaking his leg during a college rugby match, his treatment at A&E had been exemplary. He told Cherwell, “The doctors and nurses were very helpful and friendly.” The student in question, whose situation was complicated due to being an international student added, “In Spain there is also ‘free medical care’, but you would never receive any medical attention until you could prove you were a resident. In Oxford, I got transported to the hospital, they gave me an X-ray, bandaged my leg up, and after everything was done they asked for my name even though I didn’t have my ID on me. I’m very impressed with the hospital service here — my only criticism is that the queues in the JR are quite long, but you can expect that from a free healthcare service!”

Another student praised the treatment he was given after splitting his forehead open in an alcohol related injury, explaining, “They didn’t treat me like a drunken fresher.”

In order to combat high A&E attendance, an OUSU spokesperson explained, “Communication is the key to ensuring A&E isn’t used when it shouldn’t be.”

The report also highlighted concerns over mental health services in Oxford, with fear of stigmatisation being a main concern for those considering discussing mental health. A campaigns officer at student-led charity Student Minds said, “There are many outlets for students to discuss mental health here in Oxford. Student Minds is just one of them that seeks to raise awareness of mental health, as well as providing support to those in need.”

The John Radcliffe Hospital declined to comment on the Healthwatch report. 

Bouncers at Lava&Ignite nightclub have been accused of physical and verbal aggression by a number of students, with one accusing the club’s door team of homophobia.

Students have also been critical of the responses of police, who are said to have told one alleged victim, “Come back when you’re not drunk.”

The allegations sent to Cherwell relate to a number of incidents at the club, colloquially known as ‘Park End’, that have occurred over the past year.

The first statement came from a former Jesus student who graduated this year, relating to an incident which occurred on 11th June. He told Cherwell that, at the end of the night, as the bouncers were clearing the top floor, “One requested that I move towards the exit. I responded that there was a bottleneck at the doors and I preferred to wait as the crowd dispersed.

“At this point one of the bouncers grabbed my arm and I asked him to let go. This was the only motivation needed for three bouncers to violently drag me to a separate empty stairwell. There I was held by three bouncers as a fourth punched me in the stomach and legs and a fifth shouted continuous abuse.

“At one point it seemed that I could leave as three bouncers started to deal with a separate issue — though as I moved towards the exit, I was once again violently manhandled and put in a chokehold. After this I was forcibly carried down the stairs, where I saw another student being led by his neck by three other bouncers, having just undergone similar violent treatment. I was left with heavy bruises and cuts on my upper arms, bruises on my neck and deep cuts on one wrist. At no point was I provocative or violent.”

The Jesus graduate seems not to be alone in being dragged to an empty stairwell. An anonymous Brookes student informed Cherwell that he was taken to a “staff staircase” on a Monday night last year, having paid for entry. The student described how, “Before we knew it one of my friends was being kicked out — the bouncer doing so was abusing his power of authority, and quite aggressively so by shoving him out onto the staff staircase which is inbetween the bar and RnB room.

“After he was shoved out onto the staff staircase, we decided to question the bouncer as to why he had been chucked out, and as a result were forced out onto the staff staircase too. Whilst on the staircase, we suddenly became outnumbered by bouncers by three to one.

“Within the next ten minutes of trying to reason with them, we were all dragged down three or four floors on our front or backs whilst in headlocks, causing painful bruising. At the bottom of the staircase one of the bouncers proceeded to kick me and call me a ‘faggot’, whilst trying to rip my phone out of my hands as I had tried to record some of the incident.”

His phone was then damaged by bouncers, to the extent that he was unable to retrieve the footage.

Frankie Nicholls, an englishist at Exeter, meanwhile, claims she was the victim of physical and verbal abuse on two separate occasions, a year apart. Stating that she had been “drunk” on the first occasion, she explained, “[a friend] and I were pushing each other around in a frivolous way, and two bouncers appeared out of nowhere.

“They both grabbed my arms and picked me up, the force of which left me with two green bruises on my upper arm.