Sexual violence, harassment and bullying are being tackled at the University of Essex as students report the abuse they go through.
New figures reveal that incidents of abuse like discrimination, harassment and sexual violence are being reported on average more than twice a week on the university campuses in Colchester, Southend and Loughton.
Of the 77 incidents reported since the service opening in May, 41 were incidents of sexual violence or sexual harassment – the equivalent of a report every five days.
A university of Essex spokesman said: “We have a zero tolerance approach to sexual violence, harassment and hate crime and the new Report and Support system ensures anyone who experiences anything of this nature can make their voice heard.
“It is deliberately easy to use and mobile-friendly so everyone can get the help they need.”
The online form allows students, staff and visitors to campus to report incidents that affected them or on behalf of someone else.
The university offered support to everyone who made a report and left contact details, through their Report and Support system.
Almost two-thirds of reports were anonymous.
The spokesman added: “We are pleased to see so many students contributing to initiatives aimed at reinforcing this approach, including the empowering Report and Support service.
“Other activities and campaigns developed by staff and students working together, such as our Active Bystander training, the student support service Nightline, our Harassment Advisory Network and the student-led #itendsnow campaign demonstrate how positively our students are contributing to this agenda.”
The Students Union have also introduced an SOS Taxi service.
This means that by showing their university ID to a taxi driver for their service partner, Roman Cars, they can ride for free, and get out of potentially dangerous situations.
They can then pay for the cab journey at the union office in the coming days.
The data provided includes reports made from the opening of the service in May 2018 to the latest figures available on December 4 last year.
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