National Student Survey - female safeguarding

[stressystudent]

Name changed - am an occasional poster, mainly lurker but exceptionally paranoid at the moment

The time has come to fill in the NSS. I'm not sure if it was the right avenue to use but I've already had issues for discussing feminist issues with a "known t*rf" in my student inbox so am not too keen to rock the boat too much with my own name. I am not brave right now. I used the comments to draw attention to certain things I've had issues with including the conversion of female toilets into gender neutral but retaining the male and my experience of that (someone policing the sanitary bins, having removed them from the cubicles and requesting to see what was in our hands before we could use the bin), the lack of interest from anyone with any clout following a fairly violent threatening confrontation about my feminist beliefs, and the union's lack of interest in LGB issues, only T.

I am of course glad that my university is working to be a safe space for the trans students but every other demographic seems to be going out of the window. I've also been challenged in an essay for not including retroactive transing of historical lesbians, despite the sources for this being tumblr posts and not much else.

It's probably not the most effective method of communicating my issues but I thought it was worth a try. I may well be the only person to use the survey in this way but apart from the unlikely but still stressful fear of doxxing I am working my way back to being vocal following some quite violent experiences.

Perhaps if any other sisters are third year students it might be a good shout?

someone policing the sanitary bins, having removed them from the cubicles and requesting to see what was in our hands before we could use the bin

What on earth? Someone made you show your pad or tampon before letting you use a sanitary bin?

Sorry, not the point of the thread, I know! Well done for speaking up.

I am not familiar with the National Student Survey.

Who organises it, what is the data used for and is it anonymous?

conversion of female toilets into gender neutral but retaining the male

How is this not erasure of women?

someone policing the sanitary bins, having removed them from the cubicles and requesting to see what was in our hands before we could use the bin

WTAF?

Policing the sanitary bins fucking hell !

Sorry I’m not the student you’re looking for, but bloody hell, that’s truly appalling.

When you’re safe, please post which university. Terrified for my daughter.

I don't understand the policing of the sanitary bins bit? Why are they doing that?

OP, who is policing the sanitary bins and why?

Also this: I've also been challenged in an essay for not including retroactive transing of historical lesbians, despite the sources for this being tumblr posts and not much else.

What subject/course is this? Were you challenged by other students - or by the actual academics?

Sorry, I know this sounds like I'm firing questions at you, but I genuinely want to understand. This is so bloody worrying - Tumblr should not be an academic reference in a University ffs. Retrospective transing of lesbians is outrageous.

I think I know which university this is. There's a cross-dresser in the psychology department right? Very dramatic man who wants to be known as 'them or he puts in a complaint.

SonicVersusGynaephobia - I have heard more than once of this happening, and the videos I've stumbled across on the internet make me think that it was more than just a weird powertrip... the reason offered though was because many non-menstruators were using the bins as general rubbish bins so the company threatened their removal. RockyFlintstone hopefully this answers your question? I can't quite bring myself to type what I suspect is the true answer this close to my dinner.

Melroses - a survey mainly for third year undergrads, commissioned I believe by the Office For Students and is the thing that appears to be holding many unis over the barrel in terms of complaints and ranking. It is anonymous, the website says any personal data would be deleted by May and the institution never accesses the data. I filled it in through a link I was emailed. I'm not sure what the likelihood is I've really upset someone.

Notevenmyrealname - fortunately not all buildings and departments have changed but surprise surprise the ones with, I would guess, the highest numbers of female students. I'm also curious about whether the disabled students have been consulted about whether they're happy for the accessible toilet to be also used as a gender neutral one where male or female doesn't fit the bill. Having witnessed some people in absolute distress after various misuses of said accessible toilets, I'm keen to raise this but as I have no disabilities myself I'm not sure if my prodding would be welcome.

AnyOldPrion - I will. My uni isn't even the worst by a long stretch. At least in my department, I've had some interesting academic discussions on Bath Spa Uni and it doesn't seem to particularly come up. The Union is super woke however but there must be enough of a tide of opposition somewhere keeping a lot at bay.

ToeToToe as far as I can tell the bin policer was just a bog standard bloke with a power trip and perhaps a questionable sexual interest, but claimed the bin policing was due to the threatened removal thanks to loads of empty bottles and crisp wrappers etc being jammed in. I was challenged by the academic who backed down when I asked a) would he, as a gay man, be happy if I decided Oscar Wilde was a transwoman? b) if he could provide me with any valid academic literature on the trans status of a woman who died 330 years ago, I would be happy to apologise. I got an apology also. The subject is history.

AliyyaJann I've never heard that before so I don't think so. In the grand scheme of things my uni is doing a good job at keeping the worst of the behaviour out but the union, which isn't even that bad as compared to some unis. We're quite lucky.

I was talking to an academic not too long ago who said she felt so sorry for the overseas students who were having to go to a whole different building to access women’s toilets as the women’s in her building had been turned gender neutral.

The weird thing is that overseas students fees are part of what keeps that University financially viable.

Needmoresleep It really worries me sometimes, a friend whose parents are fairly liberal but religious are threatening to send her back to her grandparents abroad or only allow her out with a chaperone until she's married after some of what has been in the news. I would wonder how many women and girls will be uprooted from their lives or at least have their freedom curtailed with this as a convenient excuse.

Wow! I can't fucking believe this is happening! WTF has happened to women's rights. Sorry I'm just gobsmacked. Nothing more useful to say but so sorry you don't feel able to express your perfectly legitimate views. WTF.

Things have changed so much. What's happening to universities? Almost 3 decades since I was at uni but they're looking like a whole other country right now. It's an undiluted hotbed of fucking woke idiocy.
I'm not surprised you're stressed.
Bit gobsmacked by concerns not being taken seriously when you felt under attack. That's just shit and shouldn't be happening. Do you generally feel unsafe there?

Hang on, are you saying there was a man in the women’s toilets checking what type of sanitary product you were going to use before you went into the cubicle??

stressystudent you seem very calm and reasonable to me. I'd have gone apeshit at half of that. And a man wanting to see what used sanitary protection I was putting in a bin? He'd get it chucked at him.
We need lawyers damn it. That uni needs to be sued left right and centre. It's the only thing that will make them listen.

The NSS is completely anonymous, yes - your institution has no way of linking responses back to you. Your uni should want to know about all aspects of student life and it seems to me an appropriate forum to address these concerns (which I think are valid and need to be heard).

Flyingoink is right. Lawyers. Sue. Sue
Sue.

This is terrifying.

retroactive transing of historical lesbians

Could you please explain what this means OP? Surely no history department at a respected uni would take this seriously.

Good for you, O (GC academic here).

Rest assured that the NSS is very anonymous but that you could offer qualitative comments ie the sorts of things you’ve said here indicating that you think the university has contravened the Equalities Act re religion and sex as protected characteristics.

And as an historian “trending” of people in the past is just bad history- good that you challenged it - it’s the worst kind of presentism and your tutor doesn’t deserve his job, frankly.

transing

Dam’ autocorrect

Given the Office for Students backs free speech in universities, I think it would certainly be worth using their survey to make points about discussion being stifled.

Here’s Michael Barber (the Chair) on the subject:
www.officeforstudents.org.uk/news-blog-and-events/press-and-media/office-for-students-welcomes-hepi-free-speech-guide/

Bloody hell, what on earth is happening at our universities ? The points you male about female students from various religious groups being possibly unable to study at all in this climate...horrifying.