Molly is 22 years old, and currently a master’s student at Royal Holloway, University of London. After going through that traumatic experience with sexual violence during her first year of undergraduate study, she has emerged as a compelling voice calling for change. Hanning was accosted on Christmas vacation and suffered a traumatic assault. The aftermath of this incident would leave a permanent mark on her academic career path and expose a lack of institutional support at her university.
After reporting the incident, Hanning was dismayed. She embarked on her PhD, having enjoyed support from Royal Holloway which she’d not found at other institutions. Instead of receiving the immediate, holistic care she required, she was advised to “download an app and do meditation.” Furthermore, she was provided pamphlets with resources. These actions made her feel rejected and without the tools or leadership to manage her trauma in a meaningful way.
“I would have thought that wellbeing departments at universities would be able to cope with more than just exam stress,” Hanning remarked. This feeling sheds light on a sad truth experienced by so many students who try to access support but ultimately are not set up for success.
The lack of direct intervention from the university’s support teams took a significant toll on Hanning’s mental health during her second year. Emphasizing how that experience not only contributed to a mental health breakdown, getting in the way of her academic goals even more. “I would just get over it, and it would take time, but most people just get over it in the first couple of months,” she reflected on her struggles.
Hanning’s ordeal is not an isolated incident. Just last week, new research was released showing that one in four students say they’ve faced sexual harassment since coming to college. On top of that, a shocking 47% of lesbian, gay, and bisexual students say they have been bullied. This raises an important and prevalent problem that predominantly affects marginalized communities within academia.
Royal Holloway has admitted it needs to do better in how it reacts to such incidents. Dr. Nick Barratt, who heads the executive team supporting students at the university, expressed gratitude for Hanning’s commitment to instigating change. “We understand the profound impact that experiences such as Molly’s can have,” he stated.
Responding to her experiences, Hanning has taken a leadership role in efforts to expand and improve the education around consent on campus. She co-developed a new teaching module designed to educate fellow students about consent and safety, working alongside Academics Against Assault. Photo above, pictured running a consent workshop, Hanning is the very definition of resilience and determination to create a safer world for others.
Dr. Barratt emphasized the university’s commitment to enhancing support for its students: “We are committed to listening with care and responding with integrity.” Most importantly, he said, was listening to students such as Hanning. This feedback is incredibly important for further developing support at the institution to be able to better address these ongoing needs.
The kind of challenges that Hanning and students like her are facing expose a lack of systemic support from universities, shocking and the whole university sector in the UK. As universities strive to address these gaps, they are urged to implement more robust systems for preventing assault and harassment while ensuring effective support for affected individuals.
“This powerful data puts universities in a stronger position to prevent assault and harassment, support students and improve reporting,” stated a spokesperson from Universities UK. This recognition marks an important turning point in our nation’s higher education institutions, where student safety and well-being must be prioritized.
