23 institutions sign Amnesty manifesto

 

23 institutions sign Amnesty manifesto 

 

 

 

Twenty-three universities and colleges have now signed an Amnesty International manifesto against sexual violence among students. Some institutions do not want to sign the manifesto for practical reasons. TU Delft, for example, sees little point in workshops for all students and Utrecht University prefers its own action plan.

 

In June 2021, the human rights organisation wrote that sexual violence among Dutch students is relatively common: 1 in 10 female students is said to have been raped during their studies.

 

Since then, Amnesty International has been asking universities and colleges to endorse a manifesto against sexual violence, which the organisation drafted together with students. And 23 have now done so, or will do so soon.

With their signatures, the educational institutions promise to take measures “to ensure that everyone within the educational institution feels responsible for a culture where sex is based on equality and consent”.

 

For example, students should be able to attend workshops, such as a training course that teaches bystanders how to intervene in cases of transgressive behaviour. And staff are taught how to deal with issues such as sexual violence in a “trauma-sensitive manner”. Complaints procedures must also be in order.

 

Last Thursday, Amnesty handed 56 thousand statements of support for a better law against rape to the House of Representatives. This law (in Dutch) has already been passed, but will not come into force until 2024. (HOP/PvT)