Enough is Enough is a campaign which tackles issues around sexual and gender based violence. We now provide consent workshops for all incoming students, and usually run a welfare contact program which trains people to be active bystanders and aim to create a consent culture on campus and beyond.
The campaign is responsible for:
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Raising awareness of SGBV on campus & educating students about consent
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Making the reporting systems and support available at SOAS accessible to those who need them
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Understanding the structures that uphold a ‘rape culture’ and how this perpetuates SGBV on campus
Consent and Active Bystander Training
The Enough is Enough Consent and Active Bystander Workshop is a mandatory workshop for all incoming students, set up to combat sexual and gendered violence, as well as other forms of harassment, violence and abuse. We will cover issues around consent within systems of power and discuss various intersecting identity categories, such as gender, sexuality and race. The workshops aim at building awareness and providing everyone with an understanding of consent to create an enjoyable environment for everyone during your university experience. All new students will automatically enrolled in the mandatory Consent and Active Bystander training sessions. These sessions will give you the knowledge to create a consent culture, the skills to challenge harmful behaviours and information about reporting and support options. These sessions are designed to look at sexual and gender based violence from a survivor perspective. These sessions will appear in all new students timetables and it is important that you attend. If you are unable to attend you must contact su-consent@soas.ac.uk.
Whether you are new to the discussion around consent, or you already have experience - we invite you to join the discussion and learn from each other. We look forward to seeing you in a workshop soon!
Our facilitators are trained to deliver sensitive content and will give trigger warnings when necessary. We also deliver survivor-led workshops, which you can read more about below.
Survivor Workshops
This year SOAS Students’ Union will be running survivor-only consent workshops as part of the Enough is Enough programme. These can be attended instead of the mainstream workshops or in addition to them.
Who are they for and what are the sessions like?
The workshops are for anyone who has experienced some form of sexual violence / abuse. This could have been non-physical, a one time experience, a long time ago - or something that has happened in different ways at different times. We will not ask you to discuss your experience(s). We are open to people who identify as survivors, victims, or not with any particular term. We especially welcome: Men, LGBTQ+ people, Survivors of colour, Part-time students, Mature students, Students who are not in their first year, International students.
The facilitators will be Not the Only One. You set your own participation level and will not be obligated to discuss any part of your experience. The workshop will be discursive and we encourage participants to let us know what information they hope to get from the session. We will cover topics such as how we experience consent, defining consent outside the space of abstract debate, resources for survivors, and how to navigate discussions at university or in our personal lives. The workshop lasts for 2 hours.
If you are interested in attending, please contact su-consent@soas.ac.uk. We will then contact you with locations for the workshops. Your contact information will be used to contact you about the workshops and deleted after their completion.
- Wednesday 4th October 11am-1pm
- Wednesday 18th October 5:30pm-7:30pm
Doctoral Students' Workshop
Students in the Doctoral School can opt to attend a bespoke doctoral students session. You will still be invited to a open session which will appear in your timetable, however you can chose to not attend this session and come along to one of the following sessions reserved for doctoral students only.
- Wednesday 4th October 1pm-3pm, Lady David Gallery
- Thursday 5th October 5pm-7pm, Lady David Gallery
Welfare Contact Scheme
SOAS SU's Welfare Contacts are students who are trained in Bystander Intervention. They are present during late night events in the SOAS SU Bar in order to provide additional support to students.
Survivor Support Group
SOAS SU will be delivering a support group for survivors of sexual violence, facilitated by Susanna, SOAS SU Senior Advisor and a qualified physcotherapist.
A survivor is anyone who has experienced sexual violence at anytime during their life, including as a child and self-defines as a women. According to Herman (Trauma and Recovery, 1997) healing after trauma and traumatic loss consists of 3 elements: Remembering and mourning, Telling one’s story, Reconnecting with life. The aim of the support group is to provide a space for students who share the experience of being survivors of sexual violence. The group will provide space to cultivate peer led support: emotional and social led support, a therapeutic space to explore grief, loss and trauma and provide external resources for additional support when required e.g. Student advice and wellbeing, SU Advice, NHS. You can expect:
- Peer led discussions
- To provide a space for creative expressions though art, literature and music
- Resourcing students with mindfulness and grounding techniques
The group is for those who are looking for continued support and can commit to attending regularly. There are limited places in this group, and all students who sign up will be accessed to ensure that we can provide the right support for you. You can sign up here.
Men's Drop-in's
A drop-in space specifically for men/ masc survivors who would like private support or sign-posting to further resources.
Contact information within the SU:
Contact: Senior Advisor, Susanna Momtazuddin sm141@soas.ac.uk for general support and advice
Contact: Enough Is Enough Coordinator Farrah Black: fb28@soas.ac.uk for signposting to more resources and support.
Report and Support at SOAS
What other resources are there for me?
Other specialist services local to SOAS include GALOP and 56 Dean Street. For men and anyone who feels their gender is a barrier to support services, we recommend Survivors UK.
Helpful links:
The Samaritans (call for free on 116 123)
Women Against Rape & Black Women’s Rape Action Project
Resources Compiled by Hopscotch Asian Women’s Centre
History of Enough is Enough
In the academic year 2013/14, a Union General Meeting motion was passed in support of the National Union of Students campaign ‘I heart consent’ which the SOAS Student Union team then developed into the ‘Enough is Enough’ campaign. In 2015/16 the SOAS Board of Trustees agreed to funding across 5 years for the SU to deliver mandatory consent workshops for all SOAS students. A total of £65,000 over 5 years was agreed to fund this work. In 2021/22 the University agreed further funding for an additional three years.