UoB is handing out free personal alarms on campus

Free personal alarms can now be obtained from The Student Hub and Shackleton accommodation.

These alarms are an attempt to help students feel safer on campus and on The Vale.

The distribution of personal safety alarms comes in response to the outcry to provide better support for women, after 33-year-old Sarah Everard was killed on her walk home in Clapham.

Mary Connolly, a final year LLB Law student picked up a free rape alarm from the Aston Webb student hub, where free masks and lanyards are also available.  She told The Birmingham Tab that she got a personal safety alarm because “after the devastating passing of Sarah Everard, I have sadly realised that walking anywhere alone as a woman is not safe”.

Mary Connolly

The law student admitted that “we’ve always been taught not to walk home alone after a club in the early hours of the morning,” but described to The Birmingham Tab that “knowing a woman was not safe walking home at 9:30pm shocked me into the reality of the violence that women face at all times of the day”.

Mary explained that the alarm “has definitely made me feel a little more at ease when I do walk by myself.

“As a woman, having to take extra measures to feel somewhat safe when we do normal activities outside, getting a rape alarm is just one of the extra devices I use to feel safer on the streets,” she told The Birmingham Tab.

The University of Birmingham have launched You Report, We Support, an online reporting tool to deal with incidents of sexual assault. This programme is “committed to ensuring a safe and supportive environment for all students, and to responding appropriately to any incidents of sexual assault” the university claim.

Survivors Support Group which is peer-led, has also been launched by the Women’s Association for people of all genders who have experienced sexual assault.

Finally, the Harassment Advice Service provides support from trained volunteer staff for use by students, staff and visitors.

In an email sent to members of the College of Arts and Law, the department recognise the impact of the increased coverage of violence and oppression experienced by women. The department urge those who require help to reach out to the male and female Wellbeing Officers for support.

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