We hope that everyone’s uni experience will be safe, happy and rewarding, and we believe that everyone has the right to live, work and study in an environment free from fear of sexual harassment or violence and we want to make our campus a safe and supportive environment for all.
So, as part of our commitment to you we’re proud to bring an innovative workshop on consent and sexual violence to all our new first year students. We’ve worked in partnership with Greater Manchester Police, the Students’ Union and a local charity called Odd Arts – who will be delivering the workshops.
What is it?
The workshop is a 90-minute session delivered by trained facilitators and actors.
The first half is dedicated to a workshop on sexual consent and the second half is a forum theatre piece about a survivor’s experience of sexual violence. The workshop will involve discussion and theatre content on consent, rape and sexual assault.
In the second half we show you a short forum theatre piece which has been written in consultation with survivors of sexual assault and rape. Forum theatre allows the audience to engage with and influence the performance, with the power to stop and change and the performance.
This style of delivery will give you the opportunity to learn about and practice intervention skills. It will look at identifying inappropriate behaviour and how you can and you address this in a safe way through a number of different techniques.
Whilst there is no direct depiction of rape the content is hard hitting and authentic. The piece is intentionally as honest as possible and looks at the issues in a frank and unflinching way, which includes some explicit language and sexual references.
Why should I go and do I have to?
The aim of the session is:
- To increase your understanding of consent, rape and sexual assault
- To increase your knowledge of how to get help and support
- To increase your knowledge and understanding of being an active bystander
However, the session is not mandatory and if you have ever experienced sexual violence or you think you will be uncomfortable with the content then of course you don’t have to attend. If you have been affected by the issues it raises or need support there will be people at the session who can help. There are also lots of places that you can seek support both within the University and locally in Manchester and you can find more details here.
When is it happening?
Sessions will be running all week from Monday 23rd – Friday 27th in the Students’ Union and Hulme Hall. Find out the details, more information and sign up to the session that suits you timetable here
We’re running these workshops as part of a pilot this year, and attendees will be entered into a prize draw with a chance to win £200 Amazon vouchers.