Hands Off

BACKGROUND

HandsOff LSE are a student campaigning group working hard to combat sexual harassment and violence on campus. No one should have to feel unsafe on campus, and we are continuing to work closely with the School and LSESU to improve the process of reporting sexual misconduct, and develop upon the flagship consent education programme.

We are especially proud of the work that we and previous HandsOff LSE campaigners have done since the campaign began in 2019, this includes:

• Raising over £2,200 for Rape Crisis UK by hosting LSE’s HandsOff LSE x AU Fundraising Sports Night
• Campaigning for, developing, and delivering the SU’s flagship Consent.Ed programme
• Successfully lobbying the school to hire a Sexual Violence Advicors, to provide specialised support for survivors
• Ensuring our committee is disclosure trained, so we can provide better support to students who reach out to HandsOff
• AU x HandsOff Carol Pledges
• Campaign workshops, survivor-only groups, anti-spiking discussions and team socials.

We welcome everyone to get involved and support our work! Join our 2023/4 Whatsapp Volunteer Group & please feel free to reach out to us on Instagram @handsofflse to keep up to date with our events.

OBJECTIVES

Our committee is now bigger than ever, and we have over 100 volunteers involved in the campaign. We are very proud of what we have achieved over the past few years, and are hoping to build on it this academic year through:

FUNDRAISING

• Hosting a further two HandsOff LSE x AU Fundraising Sports Nights raising money for survivor’s organisations

EDUCATION

• Working with the SU to improve the Consent.Ed programme
• Lobbying LSEAU sports societies to mandate Consent.Ed training for Wednesday socials
• Working with the SU to ensure Consent.Ed is mandatory for incoming staff and students for 2024/5
• Hosting a panel with prominent members of the Athletics Union to tackle rape culture in sports

SUPPORT

• Continuing to fight to improve LSE’s process for reporting sexual misconduct based on care and proactivity
• Further integrating the role of LSE’s Sexual Violence Advisor and working closely with her to increase her presence and impact on campus
• Launching HandsOff Anoymous Disclosures to ensure that students have a safe space to share their experiences and find support services
• Campaigning for tailored support for LGBTQ+ victim-survivors, and for alumni in historic allegations
• Creating a guide for friends of victim-survivors on how best to respond to disclosures

SAFETY

• Working with the SU to ensure that staff in SU social spaces are effectively trained on sexual violence intervention and disclosures
• Presenting a policy proposal to the SU to ensure that external venues commit to anti sexual violence measures
• Ensuring that StopTopps are available at all LSE events
• Collaborating with LSE Taekwondo to offer self-defence training sessions

RELATED ARTICLES

Beaver - LSE Limelight #3

The Beaver (thebeaverlse.co.uk)

Meet the students pushing for better anti-sexual violence policies at LSE (thetab.com)

SOCIALS

 Instagram - @handsofflse

Whatsapp group - https://chat.whatsapp.com/CwIvgowOMtcGBDu958xQKz

GET SUPPORT

 For a list of support at LSE and external resources click here.