Durham University and rape culture

[macj1]

Just heard this on Sat from a friend's daughter - would love to hear better news. My own daughter had refused to apply to study at Durham Uni citing concerns about the 'rape culture' stories....she's taking a Gap year and I hoped she might change her mind...so on Sat when I met a young woman, Sara, who graduated 2 years ago from Durham, I brought her round to talk to my daughter, imagining she'd reassure the daughter. Instead - Sara said the rumours/stories are true - the University does nothing at all about it or to support young women - and that EVERY ONE of her female friends at Durham had been subject to horrible experiences of 'rape culture' - didn't get her to go into specifics, my daughter is only 18....the daughter of another friend has accepted a place to study English there. Should I warn her?

Do you believe other universities to be any different?

I would, I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if something happened to her and I hadn’t prewarned them. You’ll have to have a good old think about how best to approach it though

I went to Durham after dropping out of another uni, and while I would say "rape culture" is a bit strong I did think there was a nasty undercurrent of over-privilege and yes, some of that transformed into arrogant young men who didnt appear to have been taught they weren't entitled to everything. I went to a less "posh" college and it was less of a problem there, but to be honest I regretted ever going to Durham.

Didn't Uni of Durham also make it into the news for their casual racism last year?

Sadly, I know somewhere on MN, there is a link to a table of university towns/cities with a wretched number of sexual assaults. Liverpool and Manchester were high on the list, iirc.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3364329-Motion-against-Liverpool-ReSisters-by-Liverpool-City-Council?msgid=81228221

I don't know if there's an update to this since 2017:

thetab.com/uk/2017/09/02/map-shows-uni-towns-highest-number-violent-sexual-crimes-46526

I grew up in Durham, and I also worked at the university for over 10 years (left a few years ago) in a non-academic student facing role. The university has always had a lot of problems with arrogant entitled students, most of whom are from private schools. We used to call them Hooray Henrys back in my day. There is a big emphasis on sport, and male athletes are encouraged to think they can do what they like so long as they represent the university in sports and win. The university administration also definitely turn a blind eye to bad behaviour on the part of students from rich families (because rich alumni give big donations). I don't know enough to speculate on rape culture specifically, but I don't think Durham's history of excusing obnoxious behaviour and sometimes even law breaking on the part of students is a good indicator. I would personally not recommend Durham to young people, even though academically some departments are excellent.

It’s not just Durham

I don't think rape culture is limited to Durham University. Everyone's Invited website lists lots of others (84).

Eighty-four institutions have been mentioned on the site so far.
Among them are University of Oxford (57 times); Exeter (65); Edinburgh and Leeds universities (both 53); University College London (48); London School of Economics (26) and King's College London (28).

• Sky News.

What are universities doing about this?

Society has a rape culture, why would any university be immune?

What are universities doing about this?
……
Society has a rape culture, why would any university be immune?

I would very much like to see detailed policies and an annual accountability exercise for the first.

The second is something for which I long to see a profound generational shift.

It's everywhere you get a high concentration of arrogant, entitled young men who have a chip on their shoulder about being rejected from Oxbridge. Durham is particularly bad for this - not the fault of the university, but IMO they are culpable for not recognising it and knocking it on the head.

When I was there it was basically a case of 'you're an adult living away from home, handle yourself'. It seemed that anything other than academic issues (or things that might bring the university into disrepute) were viewed as personal matters between individuals and ignored. I thought that was normal, but clearly not all universities are like that, and there is supposed to be some kind of duty of care.

You might be better off letting your daughter decide where she'll feel happy, safe and able to pursue the subject that interests her, rather than bringing people round to persuade her to change her mind.

When I was there, 'lad culture' was a big part of the atmosphere and one of the reasons I didn't particularly love the social side of things. The other - possibly related - was a large contingent of quite entitled public school kids (not to say they are all like that, some are of course lovely) and a dismal lack of diversity.

I'm not sure how it compares to other unis. There are plenty of very nice and respectful people, I think it is a matter of making sure you make friends with them and try not to get pulled into the heavy-drinking culture.

I don’t know if it’s related but I was once harassed in public by some white middle-class male students in Durham, in a way that I never have been anywhere else by any other group. I looked like any other white female middle-class student so I don’t even think it was that I looked “different” to them.

Look in the Higher Education thread. There is a Durham University thread of current parents. They may be able to give you some more info.

Thanks very much for the feedback - agree totally about 'bringing people round to persuade her' - I thought/imagined that what she had heard might be biased and that the friend's daughter might provide her with the truth - which she did.

Durham had sounded great and I didn't want her to dismiss it due to stories...but again THANKS for all the links. Will get her to have a read - agree it is all up to her. But have told Manchester Uni I won't be subsidising an institution that obliterates the word 'mother' and denies my existence - they replied in a patronising 'signed up for the diversity' hogwash way - think we parents can exert some influence - after all we're the ones driving them to open days and topping up loans etc.

She's taking a Gap year and may end up studying in Europe - for various reasons, including that it might be free....

Maybe our daughters will end up joining together, fighting to re-claim campuses, walk on 'Reclaim the night' marches, as I did, way back in the day....

YABVU. I have close experience of Durham Uni, and while there is much wrong with it, as anywhere, it deals with sexual harrassment and violence exceptionally well. They have a designated team dealing with it, a sector-leading policy and procedure, and have recently written a handbook for other universities. Other universities are way behind (look at how Warwick handled its scandal) and Durham is widely regarded as really really good at managing this and enabling reporting, hence its high report levels which are not thought to be because it's any worse than elsewhere (rates of this behaviour are awful everywhere), but because the culture encourages reporting. So while the lack of diversity, and predominance of privately-educated students for whom it was not their first choice uni is a big issue, 'rape culture' is definitely not one of its big problems. Don't let that put you off.

I may have read that as more railroady-parent than it was intended, sorry about that. It's great that you are interested in her uni choices and are getting input on safety / student experience-while-female as well as academics. I don't remember that being discussed at all when I was applying, and the culture was a bit of a shock.

I think feminism is experiencing a real resurgence and it'd be great to see more young women and students getting involved. It's such a depressing culture they're being thrust into, with universities promoting 'student sex work' and being sexist, homophobic 'diversity champions', etc. The social cost of saying what's happening is really high for them. I wish we as oldgits could do more to support them.

Agree with Starbar that Durham University is working really hard to challenge sexual misconduct. You can read what they're doing on their website. I've met some of the people involved and it's not just words - they are really dedicated to improving things. Doesn't mean that it's guaranteed to be a safe environment - if only we could guarantee that for our daughters.

@EmbarrassingAdmissions

What are universities doing about this? …… Society has a rape culture, why would any university be immune?

I would very much like to see detailed policies and an annual accountability exercise for the first.

The second is something for which I long to see a profound generational shift.

All the policies in the world won't change the fact that rape convictions are so low in England that it's effectively decriminalised. Universities can't kick a student out unless they're convicted and as there's little chance of that, there's no deterrent.

Universities can't kick a student out unless they're convicted and as there's little chance of that, there's no deterrent. Incorrect. Durham students, and presumably students at other unis that have nailed down policy on this, can report to only Police, Police and the Uni, or only Uni. The latter process is non-academic misconduct, judged on a civil standard of proof (balance of probabilities) and they can temporarily or permanently exclude students, and have done, entirely separately to Police procedure. So it isn't as hopeless as you suggest.

It’s a great uni, with lots of posh students. It’ll be the same as any other university of its kind.

Girls should be encouraged to go wherever they can thrive academically - that’s what uni is about.

Don’t start limiting choices because of a few scare stories.

@TriteMale

I've never really associated lad culture so much with posh students. Most of them seem a bit wet compared to working class lads or those doing trade apprenticeships etc.

That really nasty group chat incident at Warwick was exclusively posh students. When you have a group of people who are very privileged and raised with a sense of entitlement, it's not a surprise to find that this extends to their behaviour towards women.