Dundee University Students’ Association (DUSA) will be promoting their award winning ‘Don’t Be A Prick’ campaign on campus during Freshers to promote their zero tolerance approach to sexual harassment, discrimination, and bullying.
The creative campaign will see students give out cacti as a reminder to Freshers to behave responsibly by looking out for each other and calling out behaviours outlined in DUSA’s Zero Tolerance policy.
Catherine Coyle, Vice-President of Student Wellbeing, said,
‘‘Women and the LGBTQ+ community are sadly more likely to be the subject of sexual assaults and harassment. This is a historic issue and is unacceptable. We encourage people to call out any and all toxic behaviours privately and in public.’’
DUSA has recently become an official Keep Safe place, a third-party reporting site and has adopted the Ask for Angela campaign.
Keep Safe is an award-winning scheme introduced in response to feedback from the disabled community that there were times they did not feel safe when travelling independently.
The initiative is a partnership between I Am Me Scotland and Police Scotland and was originally developed to support disabled people to participate in community life, free from fear of harassment and abuse.
Users can look up their closest ‘space’ and can use the place if they feel lost, scared or simply need breathing space.
As a third-party reporting site, DUSA’s trained members of staff help victims of hate crime report their experience in comfortable surroundings. The service is available for those who may not feel comfortable going directly to the police.
The Ask for Angela campaign is designed to reduce sexual violence and vulnerability by providing revellers with a discreet phrase they can use to gain assistance from staff should they find themselves in a worrying or intimidating situation.
It is hoped that by ‘asking for Angela’, a student can quickly alert staff and gain their help. Staff will then take the customer to one side and find out more regarding the type of support they need.
Anyone who has been subject to, or has witnessed breaches of Zero Tolerance, should contact DUSA at advice@dusa.co.uk or the University via the Enquiry Centre at enquiry@dundee.ac.uk
The cacti will be available from the Student Executive stall at the Freshers’ Fair on Campus Green between 11am and 3pm on Saturday 25 and Sunday 26 September. Pop down, have a chat, and learn all about what DUSA is doing to keep students safe.
For all DUSA media enquiries please contact Sarah Craig, Marketing & Communications Manager via the button below.