Sexual Assault

Victory for #MeToo: Bill Cosby Sentenced

“William Henry Cosby Jr. is an American former stand-up comedian, actor, musician, author, and convicted sex offender.”

So reads the headline of Bill Cosby’s Wikipedia bio as of the news breaking of him being found guilty of drugging and molesting Andrea Constand in 2004. Cosby’s conviction is the first high-profile case of its kind since the #MeToo movement began in 2017, and has seen the former actor and comedian sentenced to three to ten years in the SCI Phoenix state prison, Philadelphia. Survivors were seen in a video published after the conviction exclaiming ‘We’ve got justice!’. ‘This is just going to show survivors that they can make it through and that there is justice in the end’, said one of the women who was encouraged by Cosby’s sentencing.

Cosby’s conviction is the first high-profile case of its kind since the #MeToo movement began

This case is evidently a landmark one in the path towards justice for many, and the aforementioned videos of survivors rejoicing in public no doubt displays the strength which the #MeToo movement has endowed to many. Andrea Constand, who met Cosby when she was 30 years old, has written about her life before the assault as a time when she was at ‘the top of her game’.

“Bill Cosby took my beautiful, healthy young spirit and crushed it. He robbed me of my health and my vitality, my open nature, and my trust in myself and others”, Constand writes. The effects of the assault are self-evident, and the brutal media campaign against Constand’s family by Cosby’s PR team in the initial period after her allegations went public – branded a once-revered top-tier basketball player, and coach, a ‘pathological liar’ and a ‘Gold digger’. Other women then came out as sexual assault victims of Bill Cosby’s, a process which intensified as the total reached sixty around January 2015. American national and international media had to come to terms with the fact that ‘America’s Dad’ may indeed be, as Constand labels him, a ‘serial rapist’. A mistrial in 2017 delayed the final verdict for Cosby, but the sheer amount of evidence meant it was likely a foregone conclusion. Cosby was found guilty in April 2018, and sentenced to three to 10 years in State Prison on 26 September.

American national and international media had to come to terms with the fact that ‘America’s Dad’ may indeed be, as Constand labels him, a ‘serial rapist’.

“It all feels like a step in the right direction: away from a very dark and lonely place, toward the person I was before all this happened”, Constand said, referring to her feelings after the sentence was handed out. “Instead of looking back, I am looking forward to looking forward. I want to get to the place where the person I was meant to be [is given] a second chance. I know that I still have room to grow.”

Survivors of Cosby’s abuse are evidently empowered as a result of the conclusion of this trial; however, he could be released in as early as three years. Given the seriousness of the crime, and the labelling of Cosby as ‘likely to re-offend’ by a psychologist as part of the trial, it is indeed striking that he could receive such a sentence. Casting minds back to the reactions to American college sexual assaulter Brock Turner’s reception of six month’s incarceration – the criticisms of Cosby’s sentence ring in a familiar tone. According to a study conducted by the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the average jail sentence for convicted rapists is 11 years. Given that this is the average, rather than the maximum, such a study suggests that Cosby’s sentence is rather a low one.

It’s not only his conviction which has attracted the attention of the press. One week into his sentence, the news of the state of Cosby’s prison experience was exposed to the public. Reports have suggested that Cosby is in ‘Good spirits’ and that he is having breakfast with jail staff, alongside being assigned fellow inmates to help him around.

Cosby’s PR team have been hard at work since the moment of his sentencing. Andrew Wyatt of Cosby’s PR accused the trial of being ‘racist’, alongside attempting to rebut criticisms of the former actor. “They persecuted Jesus and look what happened”, Wyatt said. “Not saying Mr. Cosby is Jesus but we know what this country has done to black men for centuries. So Mr. Cosby is doing fine, he’s holding up well. And anyone who wants to say something negative: you’re a joke as well”

The long-term impact of the trial is hard to ascertain.

The long-term impact of the trial is hard to ascertain. While, indeed, Cosby’s jail time may come as a relief to victims of sexual assault and harassment—the recent confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh into the US Supreme Court in the face of accusations he raped Dr. Christine Blasey Ford in 1982 will likely have the opposite effect. Men such as Harvey Weinstein and Kevin Spacey, who were accused of sexual assault during the #MeToo campaign in Autumn of 2017, still have not faced a final judgement one way or another.

What this means for men such as Weinstein, Spacey, and others is still up in the air. Given that the final verdict is yet to be cast on other men accused of such crimes, it’s likely the official #MeToo precedent is still to be set.

#MeToo – Sexual Harassment at Exeter

Content Warning: This article contains direct accounts of sexual harassment.

Being ranked one of the top ten universities in the UK consistently for the last few years and with its academic and diversity portfolios widening, it is only natural that an optimist would expect Exeter’s atmosphere to be free of sexual harassment and assault. However, this campus, as with several others, has a reputation for ‘lad culture’ and all the pitfalls that come with such a massive group of followers of said ‘culture.’

Exeter, whilst considered one of the smaller, quieter cities in the UK, does share elements of the culture of sexual harassment rampant across many larger university cities and towns. To begin with, catcalls and comments yelled from cars in town are often heard by many girls who commute to and from the university, especially after dark. These could either be lads in town or university students. Some students feel that the campus itself is not always safe for women either; and several girls report feeling unsafe walking down Hoopern Alley after dark on club nights.

“The worst thing is that you know the guy or else you can’t see his face properly in the club, and honestly you’re just scared in the moment and want to get home”

This atmosphere is, of course, only completed by a heavy drinking culture and a feeling of entitlement. Wednesday TP, when most of the sports clubs release their lot, are avoided by several university girls – one claiming “I prefer other places on a Wednesday, since there isn’t even one Wednesday TP I haven’t gotten groped or harassed in.” The fact that girls have to avoid places they could potentially enjoy for fear of being threatened, insulted, or touched without consent could be said to indicate something about such venues’ lack of care in preventing such incidents. The issue is, however, that some students do not report harassment that occurs during nights out, as a second year Psychology student states – “the worst thing is that you know the guy or else you can’t see his face properly in the club, and honestly you’re just scared in the moment and want to get home.”

Hence, the sad case remains that one in three female students are sexually harassed in the UK, and oftentimes the perpetrators are ‘friends’ the victim knows who downplay the harassment to prove their innocence (aided by the fact that both parties were under the influence of alcohol), or the fact that ‘lad culture’ leads to dismissal of the event by peers and even active bullying if someone reports ‘their boy’. Unfortunately, investigations cannot be made into cases of harassment and assault that go unreported due to aforementioned reasons and the students are often left with psychological trauma – a harrowing fact corroborated by the Office of National Statistics stating that one in four sexual crimes in the UK go unreported.

Sexual assault is not banter, no matter how often perpetrators try to tell you it is

Investigations have, of course, been made into events such as the anti-Semitic t-shirts last year, and the 2016 Falmouth social at which one student wore a jacket bearing the highly offensive slogan ‘I Love Rape’. A boy, no matter how drunk he is, stating publically that he loves rape, should be treated as the threat he is rather than a schoolboy prank. University students are not twelve-year-old schoolchildren discovering the ‘r-word’ for the first time – they are grown adults who know full well the consequences of such words.

Certainly, the university does counter this culture of harassment by campaigns, as do the Guild with #NeverOk and pledges – and several female students do state that Nightline is a tremendous help when they need someone to talk to when in unlit or unsafe areas. Further action needed however, would be in the form of a general mass societal understanding and encouraging of victims to follow-up incidents of sexual harassment or assault with police reports, whether or not the perpetrators claim they ‘can’t remember anything’ or if they were unknown. Sexual assault is not banter, no matter how often perpetrators try to tell you it is.

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Shades, the Students’ Guild President, told Exeposé that:

“Sexual harassment is an incredibly serious issue which we as the Students’ Guild have addressed over the past few years and continue to fight, both on campus and around Exeter. Our #NeverOk campaign looks specifically into raising awareness of the different forms of sexual harassment experienced by our students and within society and the ways in which each and every one of us can acknowledge, call out and put an end to harassment culture. We strongly recommend that any of our students affected by sexual harassment visit the Students’ Guild Advice Unit where our trained staff can offer support, advice and information on how to deal with such distressing incidences.”

A University of Exeter spokesman said:

“The University of Exeter has a zero-tolerance policy towards sexual harassment or violence of any kind. The University recognises how distressing these incidents can be and we have trained welfare caseworkers who can work with student victims. These caseworkers can help co-ordinate support for any student subject to harassment, violence or abuse. Victims can also get support from the University’s Wellbeing services and NHS GPs on campus. Student-facing staff at the University of Exeter, such as personal tutors, are also trained to signpost to the appropriate coordinating welfare staff or support, if a student tells them they have experienced harassment or violence. Victims can also get medical, practical and emotional support from specially-trained practitioners and support workers at their nearest specialist sexual assault referral centre (SARC) or rape crisis centre. Anyone who experiences harassment or violence – which can be a criminal offence – can report the incident to the police. The University takes very seriously any breach of student conduct regulations and any incidents which are formally reported are dealt with according to the University’s disciplinary procedures.”

If you or anyone you know has experienced any form of sexual harassment and needs support, Exeposé recommends the following confidential advice services:

Exeter Nightline

Phone: 01392 724000
Email: exeternightline@gmail.com

Devon Rape Crisis and Sexual Abuse Services:

Phone: 01392 204174
Email: support@devonrapecrisis.org.uk

Devon Rape and Sexual Abuse Helpline: 0808 800 0188

What’s Different About #HowIWillChange?

If it can be said that any good has come from the accusations made against Harvey Weinstein, it is undeniably the response from women and men all over the world coming together to say #MeToo. On the 16th October, Australian author and journalist Benjamin Law tweeted, “Guys, it’s our turn. After yesterday’s endless #MeToo stories of women being abused, assaulted and harassed, today we say #HowIWillChange.”

In my opinion, this movement is proof that the #MeToo campaign is, as CNN senior news correspondent Ben Stilter tweeted, “a wake-up call for a lot of men”. The response on Twitter is overwhelming, with men pledging to not only intervene with any sexual harassment they see, but also to call other men out on making sexist remarks, catcalling and the infamous ‘locker-room talk’. But, really, we’re still just scratching the surface of a problem which has been engrained into our society since its very beginning. Therefore, while fighting sexual harassment is obviously essential, an education process needs to begin as well.

Does everyone tweeting about how common the problem is actually normalize the idea of sexual harassment?

The fact that so many men are taking to Twitter and owning up to their past mistakes is a very encouraging response to the #MeToo campaign, something that could not have come to light without social media. But the sincerity of simply tweeting a promise to change could be brought into question. Does everyone tweeting about how common the problem is actually normalize the idea of sexual harassment? Does the fact that the issue is being talked about so extensively make people feel like they have done their part to help and the problem will now be swept under the rug until next time? In reality, what will sharing a few tweets really do to change this mentality that so many people seem to have?

Mark Ruffalo tweeted “I will never catcall a woman again. Growing up we were taught from watching movies that a catcall was a compliment”

If anything, the #HowIWillChange campaign is a way of acknowledging that ‘the way things are’ is no longer acceptable. One thing that has become evident is the considerable number of men who blame their past behaviour on ignorance rather than a lack of respect for women. Mark Ruffalo tweeted “I will never catcall a woman again. Growing up we were taught from watching movies that a catcall was a compliment”, but he spoke about how his wife explained to him that this approach was wrong. Whether he should have needed a woman to instruct him that yelling at someone you don’t know in the street isn’t acceptable could be something to be questioned. But if this realization occurred to every man, it would be a move in the right direction. However the #HowIWillChange campaign has also been met with opposition, as many men tweeted that they refuse to believe any change needs to be made because after all, its ‘not all men’. Law, following his first catalytic tweet, commented on these responses, saying “lots of fragile dudes in my mentions insisting they’re ‘not part of the problem’. You’re the definition of the problem.”

This attitude is certainly how I see it. In a society where women are afraid to walk home on their own from a night out, or be left alone with their bosses, a change needs to be made. But this change is not only required from men. Many women are also guilty of turning their heads when they see another woman in trouble. I believe that society needs a united front, where rather than this being ‘the way things are’, it is the aggressor who is condemned for their actions rather than the victim. And if all the men tweeting #HowIWillChange stick to their promises, this goal may now be one step closer to becoming reality.

If you or anyone you know has experienced any form of sexual harassment and needs support, Exeposé recommends the following confidential advice services:

Exeter Nightline

Phone: 01392 724000
Email: exeternightline@gmail.com

Devon Rape Crisis and Sexual Abuse Services:

Phone: 01392 204174
Email: support@devonrapecrisis.org.uk

Devon Rape and Sexual Abuse Helpline: 0808 800 0188

Demonstrating ignorance in depicting assault

The Chinese New Year celebration was coming up on campus, and I had been very excited for it. Having lived in Hong Kong myself, I was looking forward to reconnecting a little with Chinese culture. So after engaging with the various stalls, my friend and I made our way to the Alumni Auditorium to enjoy an hour of performances.

The team had put in a lot of effort to present a lively show with various acts for us. Towards the end, we were to marvel at the skilled demonstration of some martial arts skills. I have always been a fan of martial arts and its teachings. After the performance had ended, the young man guiding us through the acts addressed the audience and referred to the email regarding cases of sexual assault in Exeter.

He then asked the leader of the martial arts performance to show some self-defence tricks for women.

So he approached the martial artist and put his arm around the guy’s shoulder, laughing awkwardly, and pretended to grab his breast. The audience laughed. The martial artist used various techniques to defend himself. Since he obviously did not intend to hurt his attacker in this case, he lifted him only half way into the air and did not throw him to the ground. While his attacker was hanging in the hair, jokingly proclaiming his pain, the audience (again) burst into laughter.

I sat there quite still. My friend, who was also laughing, turned to me, puzzled by my silence.

“Why is sexual harassment funny?” I silently asked.

I found myself back in my Taekwondo studio a couple of years ago. After personal experiences of assault and abuse, I started to go to Taekwondo classes three times a week to gain control back over my body and strengthen my confidence. It was a very long and healing process which improved my strength; both bodily and mentally. In the auditorium, I thought of my self-defence classes. Surely, we must have laughed sometimes at the awkwardness of the situation during practice. Also, sometimes satire seems to be necessary to deal with unbearable news and events. Yet, that little scene stood in a much wider and different context to me.

Firstly, it was not practice or rehearsal, but a performance in front of a large audience. Secondly, they did not state that sexual assault is wrong and focused rather on the prevention of harm; much like the email by the university. Apparently, it is the victims who above all need to look after themselves. But my self-defence classes have not prevented further sexual harassment. I get cat-called in broad daylight on a busy street. Taekwondo only helped me to deal with it, but it should not have been necessary in the first place. Apparently, the university thought it to be common knowledge that sexual harassment is wrong.

Why then, did a large audience laugh at the comic depiction of assault if it is so commonly known as wrong?

Some might say that in a real situation they would not laugh, but I have seen that happening. Boys touching girls inappropriately, and it is seen as a joke.

Now, I am certain that it had not been the men’s intention to promote that message.

But, it all seems so harmless until we see how all these seemingly harmless jokes add up to create an environment where assault is acceptable and apparently even something to laugh at.

It could have been a great moment, but unfortunately it left a bitter aftertaste.

The Reality of being a male victim of sexual assault

Most people think of sexual assault as being something totally unacceptable and reprehensible that a man does to a woman. But for me and millions of other men and boys just like me, there’s a different reality. A reality in which we are also victims and the perpetrators are of any, or no gender identity or sexual orientation. The problem is just so often ignored. The culture we live in makes it so that men are approximately four times less likely to report sexual assault in comparison to women and are often ridiculed when they do. A large part of this is due to with patriarchal gender roles and standards, which include the belief that men always want sex or sexual contact (from my experience especially in a heterosexual context) but also, and more dangerously, the often ignored discriminatory legal classifications of sexual assault which disproportionately fail anyone with a penis or anyone whose rapist or abuser happens to have had a vagina.

The problem is just so often ignored

Knowing all of this makes it incredibly important for me, as a man who has been sexually assaulted on two occasions (once by a man and once by a woman) to take a stand and encourage a better approach to male sexual assault and its victims. Aside from men being vastly less likely to report being victims of sexual crimes than women, there are very few resources available for male victims. Most resources that are currently available apply only to male survivors of childhood sexual abuse, so as a male assaulted during adulthood resources are even further limited. I have personally come to the conclusion that campaign groups need to be much more inclusive of male victims and give them more of a platform from which to speak.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Silhouette_shadow.jpg

Thankfully, in 2014 the coalition government set up the first dedicated fund to support male victims, which is a good start but much more needs to be done with regards to funding. If you are a male victim of sexual assault or rape, there are thankfully excellent charities out there, like Mankind, a charity benefitting from National Lottery funding and which provides specialist support for men who have been sexually abused. There are also more general charities like Samaritans who really helped me in my darkest hours and are able to direct you to other charities with specialist resources in the field. Suffering mental health complications as a result, I contacted the University’s Wellbeing Services who were extremely helpful and whom I would thoroughly recommend to any student. The whole experience really did affect my mental health. In fact, I spent a week at a Buddhist festival just outside Taunton with a couple of my closest friends, not having fun, but crying in a nearby field and having repeated panic attacks.

Women are seen as incapable of sexual misconduct and of course, what man wouldn’t want it?

Perhaps the greatest challenge for me personally was the reaction of my friends. During both episodes, two different groups of friends seemingly stood-by and did nothing (in one case despite my repeated pleas for help). I was confused as to why and was very angry at them for a long time, but I realise now that they acted the way they did simply because society tells them that because I’m a man, they couldn’t possibly have been watching me be sexually assaulted because that just doesn’t happen to men. It’s part of our social conditioning and we all have a collective responsibility to point this out and challenge it wherever we see it.

Moreover, in the aftermath, friends and acquaintances poked fun at me and joked about it happening again- particularly with regards to the incident where a woman was the perpetrator. Women are seen as incapable of sexual misconduct and of course, what man wouldn’t want it? Well I certainly didn’t! There was also a knock-on impact, particularly in regards to the closest of my close friends. My understandable need at the time for a great deal of protection and support from one very close friend in particular caused a real rift in the relationship and hurt her very badly too. I’m eternally grateful that the bond between her and I is entirely mended now, but the fact that me being sexually assaulted could so badly damage someone else in addition to just myself really put everything into perspective. It’s never okay, regardless of gender identity or sexual orientation.

I’ll close by addressing the two people I was victim to. I give you both my total forgiveness and all my love; I don’t even hold a grudge. The only recompense I ever want from either of you if you happen to someday chance upon this piece is that you think about what you did to me and that you never do it to anyone else in the future: it’s never okay.

University student jailed after sexually assaulting another student

A University of Exeter student has been jailed for sexually assaulting another student. Vadim Evseev admitted assault by penetration and was jailed for a year at Exeter Crown Court.

Judge Graham Cottle told Evseev in summary:

“This young girl was aware of someone following her and was intimidated. She is now more anxious when she is out in the evening and has contacted a sexual assault referral centre.

One aspect of your internet usage was very relevant to this incident and they type of sexual attack you carried out. You had material on your phone of an activity known as sharking.

There is no alternative to custody for a case as serious as this. It would be a source of public outrage if there was not immediate custody.”

Evseev was caught on CCTV following the 18 year old student as she walked home from a club to her halls of residence before sexually assaulting her. The attack was carried out after he got drunk two weeks before Christmas because he could not return home for the break. He also did not know the victim.

Mr Joss Ticehurst, the prosecutor, said the attack took place at around 2 am on December 11 last year. Bank records and CCTV records helped the police identify Evseev who ran away after the attack. He had also watched videos of ‘sharking’ on the internet which showed almost identical attacks to the one he carried out.

Miss Mary McCarthy, defending, said the incident had ended Evseev’s hopes of completing his degree and he was liable to be called up for a year in the army when he returns to Russia. She also said he was so drunk he had no memory of the attack and suggested the videos he had watched on the phone may have played some role.

She said:”It is possible that in drink, subliminally, they caused him to act in this way.”

Evseev has been suspended by the university and is likely to return to Russia where he is likely to face a year’s conscription in the army.

Review: Asking For It

Did you know ducks have decoy vaginas? The sneaky devils. But see, it’s because male ducks like to gang-rape their ladies. So I guess Todd Akin was right when he said rape victims don’t get pregnant, because “if it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down.” Except for the tiny problem that he wasn’t actually talking about ducks…

This is the kind of stuff Adrienne Truscott satirises in Asking For It. On May 3, the New York comic brought her controversial stand-up to Exeter’s Corn Exchange for a one-off show in partnership with Devon Rape Crisis. Billed as a “One-lady rape about comedy,” the flyers promised it would star “her pussy and little else!” And yeah, Truscott’s lady-parts do play a starring role… but “little else”? That hardly does it justice.

Having interviewed Truscott earlier in the week, I knew what I was letting myself in for. Well, sort of. Nudity? Yep. Wickedly sharp jabs at society’s blasé attitude to rape? Of course. They arrive minute-by-minute. The gems in Truscott’s performance are those tiny comments, the throwaway utterances. Like after she’s acted out an interview where the boss goes for a handshake and she panics and blows her rape whistle. “I misread his body language” she quickly chucks in – which carries some weight here, right?

This is a multimedia, multi-layered and multi-purpose performance. Sure, it’s a show about rape, but it’s also a comedy – and Truscott knows that to keep us engaged, she’s got to keep us laughing. The whistle’s a key prop throughout – from learning we can blow it if we want her to stop, to suggestions everyone needs a whistle just in case they feel like raping someone. Think about it: one quick puff and passers-by can leap in to stop you. Genius! Between that, puns about ‘cereal rape’ (“Do you want milk with that?” “No.” -pours milk anyway-) and Truscott’s truly hilarious interpretation of why you “shouldn’t look anyone in the eye while eating a banana” it’s a high-energy, high-stakes performance that’s just as outrageous as the posters suggest. Like, faces-projected-onto-naked-vaginas kinda outrageous.

The gems in Truscott’s performance are those tiny comments, the throwaway utterances.

One thing I went in utterly unprepared for, though, was the intense gratitude bursting from the seams of this Corn Exchange audience. It’s very telling that when Truscott returns to the stage (de-wigged and re-trousered) for “questions and challenges,” what she actually gets are powerfully heartfelt messages of thanks. For many in the audience, this was something they needed to see and hear. And Truscott may bare all physically during the show, but it’s during the Q&As that we really feel we’ve got her at her most vulnerable. “I knew if I didn’t get it right, I’d be crucified,” she admits, talking very candidly about the jokes from tonight’s show that she’s struggled to get right – and probably still hasn’t perfected. One question that really sticks out is this: Truscott’s powerful material and hysterical wit stand alone. So why the props and costumes (or lack thereof)? Surely it’s just gimmicky?

“I’m well aware it’s gimmicky!” Truscott laughs. “But I knew it’d sell tickets, and I don’t wanna do this to an empty room!” She’s got a point: if you’ve got something important to share with the world, you want people to stop and listen. And if that means getting your vagina out… well, so be it.

One thing I went in utterly unprepared for, though, was the intense gratitude bursting from the seams of this Corn Exchange audience.

Can you joke about rape? An interview with Adrienne Truscott

It’s an odd feeling, knowing you’re chatting to the woman whose vagina you’re going to see on stage later this week. Luckily, Adrienne Truscott’s got a knack for dispelling awkwardness. It’s probably got something to do with that “One-lady rape about comedy” she’s here to perform.

Yep: showing at Exeter’s Corn Exchange on Wednesday in collaboration with Devon Rape Crisis, Asking For It is a brutal take-down of our attitudes to sexual assault. It’s been performed at the Edinburgh Fringe, Brighton Fringe and in theatres across London, earning five star reviews from The Guardian – along with a fair share of angry letters from “conservative folk.” And it’s not hard to imagine why.

“When you just read about it, it can sound a bit dodgy…” Truscott admits. I guess she’s talking about that line that says she’ll “let her pussy do the talking.” (Oh yeah: she’s half-naked for much of the performance. Like, literally. I wasn’t joking when I said we’d be seeing everything.)

Can you really joke about rape though?

“I’m a performer,” Truscott explains. “I use humour to make people laugh, but also to make them think.” But why rape? “There were a bunch of things I wasn’t hearing on this topic,” she explains. “So many people spoke and joked about it so lazily… So I had this mischievous idea: what if I could make a stand-up comedy show about it, and actually get people to pay attention to what I was saying?!”

Basically, it’s a satire of rape culture – not rape itself. And it seems this is an issue affecting students across the UK. In fact, many universities have asked Truscott to come and perform Asking For It “precisely because they feel like rape culture is a problem on campus that’s not being addressed.”

University can be a “really confusing time,” she says. “And our culture sends pretty confusing messages about sexuality and consent to both men and women. Like who’s allowed to do what, whose fault it is…”

Of course, on the topic of casual ‘rape culture’ at Exeter, it’s hard not to mention one infamous spot.

“Rape Alley?” Truscott repeats. “I haven’t heard of it, no, but I understand that sort of thing…” (For those who’re unaware, ‘Rape Alley’ is the highly controversial nickname given to Hoopern Lane – one of the narrow pathways close to Exeter University.)

“The crazy thing is,” she says, “it does happen in alleys, but that’s not where it happens the most. Usually it’s with someone you know, when somebody crosses a line or ignores someone else’s ‘No’…”

Labelling somewhere ‘Rape Alley’ also sends out a pretty disturbing message, she adds. “It’s like saying: Rape Alley is somewhere you shouldn’t go if you don’t want to get raped, as opposed to saying: look, the only way not to get raped is if somebody doesn’t rape another person.”

This whole notion that you can be “in charge” of whether you get sexually assaulted is something Truscott wants to tear apart during the show, and it’s actually one of the reasons she’s decided to bare all. “The show’s called Asking For It,” she says. “So I’m sort of putting out there – isn’t this the most ‘asking for it’ outfit you could wear? And I’m not looking to get raped. This is me really making an exaggerated point…”

But that’s not the only reason behind the nakedness. “It’s also… the ‘site of the crime’ right?” she half laughs. “So it kind of makes the audience deal with the fact that this is what we’re talking about. We’re not just talking about some lad who’s had a couple, feels a bit rowdy and goes a bit too far but ‘boys will be boys…’

“Plus it is also a pretty hilarious look to see a lady wearing a denim jacket, shoes and no trousers.”

‘Asking For It’ is a brutal take-down of our attitudes to sexual assault.

Hilarious, yes. But easy? No way. None of the show is easy. “You can write a joke that works – but just because it works, doesn’t mean it’s not tricky!” Truscott laughs. “Plus you can make a joke that’s dark, and it can be dark in a really ignorant and gross way, or it can be dark in an illuminating way. There are a few punchlines in here that I know are pretty intense, but they’re truthful – and they speak to truths in the world that don’t get talked about that much.

“But I also build other things into the show so there’s a bit of relief. So it’ll get all intense and then a song comes on and you’re like: ‘Oh thank God, Beyoncé, phew!’”

No amount of Beyoncé can make Asking For It suitable for everyone, though.

“It’s never, ever in my interest to have someone come to the show who doesn’t know what it’s about,” Truscott stresses. “And if there’s someone who’s had a really recent trauma, then it’s probably not the show for them yet. But I’ve had many women and men who are survivors of sexual assault who have come to my show and said, ‘Thank God; that was the first time I’ve had the chance to think about it differently.’”

‘Asking For It’ shows at Exeter Corn Exchange at 8pm on 4 May. The performance is followed by a Q&A with Adrienne. For tickets and more information, visit the Corn Exchange website.

Sexual assaults increase in Exeter

There has been a dramatic increase in recorded rapes and other sexual offences in Exeter, data obtained from Devon and Cornwall Police has revealed.

An Exeposé Freedom of Information (FOI) request discovered that there had been a 37 per cent rise in rapes since 2013, with those involving females over 16 nearly doubling.

Sexual assaults have increased by a third according to the FOI, while recorded offences with male victims have tripled.

A second-year Drama student, who recently reported being groped and followed back to her halls, believes that this is evidence of a growing issue. She told Exeposé: “It seems like sexual assaults and girls getting followed is becoming more of a problem. Currently, the thought of walking anywhere and seeing [my attacker] makes me feel sick in the pit of my stomach, but it also makes me angry, upset and scared for others.”

A spokesperson for Devon and Cornwall Police disputed this view, commenting that the statistics were “encouraging” and evidence of “victims becoming increasingly confident in coming forward to the police”.

Another student who reported being followed home by a stranger who was “basically breathing on [her] neck” attributed some of her confidence to report the crime to the #NeverOk campaign launched in October 2014. “I’ve discussed with friends about these kind of experiences, but I feel like #NeverOk took some of the stigma away. Now it feels more acceptable and reasonable to discuss sexual assault in a public forum,” she said.

Photo: Exeter Students' Guild — Photo: Exeter Students’ Guild

Devon and Cornwall Police have since launched their own campaigns – #NoBlurredLines and the recent ‘Good Consent Guide’ – to combat stigma and help educate on consent.

Nonetheless, one final-year student felt that the campaigns have been “limited” in their scope so far. “These campaigns have helped students to better identify instances of assault and view them more critically, but the unfortunate reality is that a lot of us are still struggling to report lower-level incidents, like being touched inappropriately in a club.

“We might know that it’s ‘never ok’ to be felt up, but when people think this is ‘normal’ in a club environment, it feels stupid to say something about it.”

Such a view appears to echo the national picture. A 2015 poll by YouthSight found that one in three students had been “a victim of inappropriate touching and groping”, yet almost half had not reported their ordeal. Meanwhile, six in ten men claimed that they had not told anyone about sexual assaults against them.

Despite efforts to encourage students to come forward, one student, who told Exeposé of a shocking islamophobic sexual attack against her in summer 2014, which saw a group of males pull her headscarf and touch her upper chest, did not report her experience to the police and claimed that she would still not do so.

“People I know who have reported it to the police say they have felt victimised as if they did something wrong so it would have been traumatising to have to recall all of it again. I think the better question is, what support would I have to help me make the report?”

Devon and Cornwall Police assure students and members of the public that they have been doing “a large amount of work” to better assist victims of sexual crimes.

“We have always said time is not a factor when it comes to crime and we will always investigate… Be assured that we have dedicated sexual offences liaison officers, both male and female, who offer immediate support to any victim of a sexual crime. We along with the police and crime commissioner launched the Victim Support Unit which offers tailored support to help with recovery.”

The Students’ Guild also has trained Harassment Advisors, though students have suggested that this support could be “better signposted”.

In their #NeverOk pledge, the Guild encouraged students to sign for creating an “inclusive and welcoming campus”.

Naomi Armstrong, VP Welfare and Diversity, commented: “The Students’ Guild is continuing to develop the #NeverOK campaign which will relaunch for 2016/17 to continue to provide students with both support and a voice against sexual crime, violence and harassment.”

If you have been affected by any of the issues in this article, the Devon Rape Crisis and Sexual Abuse Services can be contacted on 01392 204174.

Exeter lad culture: has it spiked?

I find Lady Gaga’s new music video ‘Til it Happens To You a distressing watch. Shot in black and white, the video depicts three female students at an American university, all of whom are sexually assaulted. Whilst the graphic portrayals of the three rapes are in themselves harrowing, what upsets me most is watching the period of self-blame that all three characters go through, before each becomes reconciled with the fact that their victimhood wasn’t their fault. At the beginning of the video, the girls are all fresh-faced, naïve and happy; one bashes out tunes on a keyboard with her would-be attacker, blissfully unaware. It’s this naivety that catches me.

When I first arrived at Exeter two years ago, I too was wide-eyed and innocent. I’d grown up in Yorkshire, and attended an all-girls school from the age of thirteen to eighteen. I had male friends, but overall was utterly unprepared for the lad culture that waited at university. Never before had I walked into a room and felt quite literally like a piece of meat. Having worked so hard in the run-up to A-Levels and university applications, the focus on my brain and academic ability had been displaced onto my cleavage.

However, it wasn’t until later into my first term of university, when I was spiked, that the wider implications of lad culture crystallised for me. The night I was spiked remains a frightening haze for me, but luckily I have friends who were with me. I wasn’t assaulted; a friend got into a physical fight with my would-be attacker, who’d followed me out of the club before trying to grab me.

Unfortunately, the ordeal wasn’t over. At my student accommodation, I received sympathy, yes, but also a barrage of inappropriate and upsetting comments. In one instance, I was asked what I’d been wearing on the night. In another, a guy told me ‘Well, I’d spike you, Flora’, in what he clearly intended to be a compliment. I felt tainted somehow. I was Flora, the girl who got spiked. It felt shameful, as if the sexual nature of the attack was now bound up with my own burgeoning identity. I began to make light of the event. I didn’t want to become ‘that girl’.

Now I realise that my shame wasn’t a product any misdemeanour on my part, but of the lad culture which permeates our university. Because “lad culture” is simply a euphemism for rape culture. It’s rape culture with a few more trimmings, a few more E-Gs and yells of “down it, Fresher!” But at its crux lies the notion that girls at university are there for the taking. Sexual assault has been normalised in universities across the country; using the term “lad culture” instead of rape culture furthers this. This trivialisation means girls rarely speak up, so that when they do, they’re remembered as the ones who did, their identity sexualised by the crime inflicted on them. It’s a spiral of shame and self-blame. Campaigns like last year’s #NeverOK can make local differences, but it’s a battle being fought across the country and, as Lady Gaga has highlighted, across continents. ‘Til it Happens to You? We shouldn’t have to wait ‘til then for us all to understand what needs to change.