Survivors' and Solidarity Hub

How do you heal from gender-based violence?

[
[
[

]
]
]

Support

×

Campaign

×

About

ABOUT THE SURVIVORS’ AND SOLIDARITY HUB

This Hub was created in 2025 by a community of student activists at the University of Edinburgh who were working to change on-campus conversations around consent and gender-based violence in Higher Education. 

Our hope was to create a space where students – both those who had experienced gender-based violence, and those who wanted to support their peers who had – could connect, share their experiences – particularly of recovery and healing – and express themselves creatively. 

This Hub would not be possible without the relentless and dedicated work of student activists – from those who participated in protests and attended events, to those who shared content on social media – we would like to extend our gratitude to all of you. 

We would also like to thank the Officers, particularly the Vice President Welfares, and staff, particularly those at the Advice Place, at Edinburgh University Students’ Association (EUSA), for their ongoing support, advocacy, and campaigning.  

And finally, we would like to thank the University of Edinburgh staff who continue to support and advocate for survivors of gender-based violence, particularly those in the Equally Safe team. 

Our story as changemakers 

In May 2024, after four months of campaigning, five students took their seats around a meeting table. For the first time, they were joined by members of the University’s leadership team. 

Years of organising, campaigning, and protesting had led to this moment. 

Students had been collecting and publishing testimonies from students across the University, detailing countless cases of survivors feeling frustrated with how their experiences had been handled by the administration. 

These testimonies fuelled a University-wide movement and a nationwide call for safety and justice on our campuses, in partnership with similar campaigns at other institutions. From incredible attention-grabbing protests, to educational events, and peer support, student groups collaborated to call for change. 

The timeline below highlights key moments, from February 2024 to November 2025, showing what we’ve achieved and how far we’ve come. 

Timeline: 

February 2024: 

A collective of student societies co-author an open letter to the University containing several key demands including: 

  • The creation of a robust, survivor-centred Sexual Misconduct Policy, distinct from the University’s existing Student Code of Conduct 
  • The greater prioritisation of and investment in consent education, including mandatory consent training for new students 
  • The enhancement of support for survivors, including the adoption of a trauma-informed approach 

Alongside this letter, the groups organise a Week of Resistance, which includes daily events, culminating in an emergency protest centred on their demands. 

The University agrees to meet with the students involved to hear their concerns. 

September 2024: 

Several meetings between the student collective and the University have been cancelled. 

In response, the students hold an emergency protest, coordinated by Edinburgh University Feminist Society, Sex? On Campus!, and Girl* Up. On 23 September, students poured out of their classes to express their frustration at the institution’s slow response, and demand change. 

October 2024: 

Representatives of the three student groups, alongside the Students’ Association’s Vice President Welfare, finally meet with the University, represented by the Deputy Secretary (Students), the Director of Student Wellbeing, and the Equally Safe Manager. 

November 2024: 

Ongoing conversations lead to the creation of the Tackling Gender-Based Violence Working Group, bringing together students and staff with the aim of improving the experience of survivors of GBV at the University of Edinburgh. 

February 2025: 

While the group makes progress, many of the systemic and structural issues students had previously identified in the 2024 open letter remain.  

In February 2025, students again hold a week-long protest, calling for justice for survivors and for the issues with the University’s Student Code of Conduct to be addressed. 

Sex? On Campus! launch their HEART Fund, providing mutual aid to survivors of gender-based violence. 

May 2025: 

The Working Group has made significant progress on its objectives, including embedding consent education into the matriculation process for all students, and creating resources for use by student leaders across societies, sports clubs, and halls of residence. The Group has also begun to work on a University-wide survey, with the aim of better understanding survivors’ experiences of support, including barriers, negative experiences, and gaps. 

July 2025: 

While many of the campaign’s original members have now graduated, the movement continues to fight for survivors! 

We recognise that change takes time, hard work, and most important persistence. Many of our members continue to volunteer their time to support others and improve the experience for survivors, driven by the belief that no student should have their time at University tainted by gender-based violence. 

Will you join us? 

Read more about our campaign: