16 Days of Action
This is an annual international campaign that starts on Fri 25 November, (International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women), and runs until Sat 10 December, (Human Rights Day). It aims to raise awareness and call for changes at local, national and international level to end violence against all women and girls.
The Students' Guild in partnership with Societies, the University, and External services will run 16 days of ‘events/actions’ to mark 16 days of action the international campaign to highlight and demand change for violence against women.
We will be working with external providers and using their wisdom and resources. Splitz/Fear-less, Devon Rape Crisis and sexual abuse service, Revenge Porn helpline, Intercom Trust and Karma Nirvana.
This is an international campaign to raise awareness of issues, encourage change and signpost to support. We recognise that this topic can be triggering and upsetting. If this has caused you any difficulty, please do reach out for support at Devon rape crisis and sexual abuse service and Exeter University Wellbeing Services. If you would like to feed back the email is 16daysofaction@exeterguild.com
EVents
Women & Law, Labour, Feminist, Pro-choice, UN women and socialist students' societies put on a ‘through the ages’ evening at Revolutions to start the 16 days of action and mark 'International day for the elimination of violence against women'.
All who came had a great evening and they raised £92.50 for Devon Rape Crisis and Sexual abuse service.


Organised by Devon Rape Crisis and Sexual Abuse Service
No experience was needed to join the Flash mob choir organised by Devon Rape Crisis and Sexual Abuse Services. They met at the Cathedral for practice before moving on to the Guildhall shopping centre. All attendees were asked to wear something RED on the day.
They also had volunteers who were there to help to give out leaflets and hold the donation buckets. Shoppers were really impressed with the singing and interested to about the cause and the 16 days of action. Despite most people not carrying cash anymore, they still managed to raise £89 in a very short space of time.
They sang 2 songs, Something Inside So Strong written by Labi Siffre and Ke Arona which is a protest song from South Africa in the Sotho language. It means “Power to the People’ and became popular during the anti-apartheid struggles in SA.


We interviewed Gilly from Devon Rape Crisis explaining what the service can offer, who can access this service, and how to access support.
You will be believed and supported, by a safe, confidential professional support service.
- Direct support with one of their skilled workers,available for all survivors aged 13 and over. They offer support online, byphone and from their bases in Exeter, Torbay and Barnstaple.
- Confidential e-mail support for anyone living in Devon
- Anonymous and confidential telephone helpline for anyone living in Devon
- Support to the families, friends and partners ofthose affected by sexual violence.
(Phone and email support available Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 6pm to 9pm)
If you visit their website they have information about ways that you to ‘hide your tracks’ to leave the site quickly and hide that you have visited.
They have resources such as self – help guides,links to useful apps and other organisations.
The Estate Patrol team were in the Forum today on their stall which allowed students to see all the great features of this app.

The Guild is recommending that our staff and students use the Safe zone app which is a free app-based system which links you to Estate Patrol for your safety and others.
There are 4 alert buttons that once you press, will take you to the appropriate support (First aid, Emergency, Security and Wellbeing Assistance)
Estate Patrol have the back view of the system which allows them to view campus as a map and when an alert goes off, they can see where this is coming from.
We recently found out about what the app can do and how you can choose to engage with it.
Here are the benefits that we identified.
- Notify Estate Patrol about any unusual or suspicious behaviour that concerns you.
- Identify First Aiders and notify them if they are the closest to an incident if they are able to attend, they may be able to help.
- Notify Estate Patrol about safety issues, like a light that is out on a safer walking route or something that could cause a hazard.
- There is a number of different check in options to suit you; an automatic, a countdown and a manual log in and out.
- Your location is only shared if you check in or request help through the alert buttons.
- You might never need this but if you come across someone else who is struggling you can easily call to notify for assistance and help.
- If you are working late and are the only person around or walking back to the car parks or routes off campus, you can log in or even call if you feel unsafe.
- Keeps you in the know about larger issues that impact all- Who knows when it might be handy to know when there is an unexploded World War bomb on campus!
- Your log in will also work if you visit other Campuses that are signed up and run by their equivalent of Estate Patrol.
If you are interested to know more, they have some short videos and resources on their website. Exeter University Safe Zone
Reclaim the Night Marches are international, annual protest which takes place during the 16 Days of Action. They raise awareness, demand change and remind us all that violence and harassment is still an ongoing concern for women in Devon as well as across the globe and that it is a human right for us to be able to feel safe out on the streets where we live.
We welcomed students to come along and make a sign/banner ready to take to the Reclaim the Night Exeter Walk on Thursday 1 December.
Lots of creative, clever and heartfelt messages were made to be on display on the march on Thursday.

We set up our stall in the Forum, with information about current initiatives and free resources likes alarms, bottles covers and drink testing strips and asked you to share your thoughts and ideas about what change you would like to see to influence planning, investment and action for in the future.
We asked you....
What can we do to create a safer future? What change do you want to see to make your community, your home, your work and your places of education safer?
If you couldn't make it to the forum you can share your thoughts on our online form bit.ly/Safer-Future-Form which will be open until the end of the 16 days.


The Reclaim the Night, international, annual protest which takes place during the 16 Days of Action. The events raise awareness, demand change and remind us all that violence and harassment is still an ongoing concern for women in Devon as well as across the globe and that it is a human right for us to be able to feel safe out on the streets where we live.
We gathered at St Sidwell's Community Centre for opening speeches before starting the march at 18:30 by walking through the City centre ending at Bedford Square with a rally.
It was a great turn out and the shoppers and commuters in town cheered on the marchers.




Come and visit us in the DH1 where we are joined by workers from the Revenge Porn Helpline and learn a bit about what this is, what you can do to help and what support is out there.
They are a UK service supporting adults (aged 18+) who are experiencing intimate image abuse, also known as, revenge porn.
The Helpline was established in 2015 alongside the legislation which made it an offence to share intimate images or videos of someone, either on or offline, without their consent with the intention of causing distress. The Helpline is run by a small team of passionate and motivated individuals who are here and ready to help.
Their website is full of really useful and interesting information that can offer emotional and practical support for someone who is currently going through this about what they can do to report and stop it.
People can often feel really embarrassed that this has been done to them and there are lots of tricks people will employ to deceive. But there is support out there and the response that you will get from the helpline will be non-judgmental and kind.
We will also be promoting services through our social media. Revenge porn helpline.

Izzie and Emma our Officers visited the Safe Space at St Stephens Church in town to see how this space works and how it can be supportive to students while on a night out in town. We recorded our visit to share with you.
Funded by InExeter, Community Safety Partnership and Safer Streets Fund 4, Exeter Safe Space is a new initiative to better the experience of those out and about in the nighttime.
This space will provide a warm safe welcome to anyone needing support during a night out in the city centre. Serving three main purposes of
- Light medical treatment and paramedic help,
- Welfare such as water, phone charging, changes of clothes and safety alarms and
- A safe place to wait for transport home
We hope that this facility is a welcome beacon in the nighttime.
They will continue to develop the project, extend agency involvement, bring partners in, test demand, respond to user needs and capture impact.
The operational hours are Wednesday, Friday and Saturday 23:00 – 03.30.

We know that violence in relationships isn’t just a male on female issue and that it is an everybody issue to keep everyone in Exeter safe. Anyone can be a victim of sexual abuse and domestic violence.
Did you know that Fearless and Devon rape crisis and abuse service is not just for women. Anyone is able to access to support.
We also know that there are specific services such as Intercom Trust, our local LGBTQ+ service who have a dedicated domestic abuse support worker and have also supported many of their service users who will have experience trans and homophobic abuse.
We are chatting to them to understand more about the issues and support for the community.
Galop is a national charity that has decades of experience in supporting LGBTQ+ people who are victims of domestic abuse, sexual violence, hate crime, so-called conversion therapies, honour-based abuse, forced marriage, and other forms of abuse.
- LGBTQ+ victims of domestic abuse are almost twice as likely to have attempted suicide and are twice as likely to have received historic abuse by a family member.
- 80% of trans people have experienced emotional, physical or sexual abuse from a partner or ex-partner.
We know that creating a safe community is an everyone issue and we want all societies to publicly pledge support for this by sharing a photo of the society with our society pledge poster and committing to the pledge below.
As a society we pledge to;
- Create an environment where all women feel safe, welcome and valued.
- To challenge any comments or actions that are sexually inappropriate, violent or demeaning to women.
- Increase our knowledge and understanding and engage with training.
The University Bystander intervention training is the next step to this commitment and
It will give you the confidence to know when and how to step-in when something feels wrong, or if you see someone being mistreated. The bystander training, which will help you intervene in situations, in a way which can create a positive outcome.
‘Exe-Change the Norm’ is FREE and available to all our students, across all campuses. The four training sessions cover topics including sexism and sexual harassment, partner abuse, racism and racist micro-aggressions. You’ll learn how to effectively step-in to help if you see these sorts of behaviours occur.
Developed by Exeter University academic, Dr. Rachel Fenton, as well as Dr. Nate Eisenstadt, we create an open environment during the training, which celebrates each individual, allowing for non-judgmental practice of bystander intervention.
This programme is part of the University’s commitment to creating an inclusive environment for all our community.
We had an interactive display in the Forum with large maps of Exeter to highlight where safer walking routes are and showing the different initiatives in town are.
We wanted you to show us where you feel safe or unsafe and we were so pleased that so many students engaged in this and had some great conversations about our feelings of safety.
We know that people identify feeling unsafe on the streets but statistics show that 1 in 3 adult survivors of rape experience it in their own home and dmestic violence is most likely to occur in the home.
Lets work to keep people safe everywhere.


Fear-less (formerly Splitz) is the local domestic abuse charity that supports women and men in Devon.
We had so much engagement with the interactive stall where we look at what is a healthy relationship and found out more about the service.
People were so willing to share thoughts and we came away with a strong sense that we need to be having more open, non judgemental conversations, more opportunities for people to understand what could be unhealthy and controlling and what support is ther.
- Every day, 2 women in the UK will be murdered by their partner.
- It is estimated that 1 in 8 of all female suicides or attempted suicides in the UK are due to domestic abuse.
- Every 30 seconds the police, receive a call from a person trying to escape their abuser.
- 1 in 3 women and 1 in 6 men will experience abuse during their lifetime.
- 1 in 5 children in the UK witness or experience domestic abuse.
Splitz Support Service Stats
- Every year we receive calls for help from 6000 adults and children across Devon
- During the pandemic, demand for our life changes services increased by 37% and that demand is set to continue throughout 2022.
- We support people of any gender, background and sexuality.
- 70% of people we support are aged between 22 – 50
- However, calls for help from people aged over 65 has increase by 73% in the last five years.
- In 2021, we supported 1313 adults and children in Exeter alone.


The media plays a large role in how people view women, abuse and sexual harm. Working with our media societies we had a workshop to look at ‘fixing the problem’ of some of the problematic headlines and reframing them to address the issues.
While some we have come a long way in the way that society has changed and some of the older articles hopefully would not be seen anymore, we also sadly found current examples of problems.
The themes that stood out for us were that it is never the victim's fault. It does not matter what you wear, what you drank, your preferences in life. No one asks to be assaulted.
Let's support each other by challenging these comments whether verbal or written, stop the victim blaming and start valuing and empowering women.



Karma Nirvana became the first specialist charity for victims and survivors of Honour Based Abuse in the UK.
They have led the campaign against Honour Based Abuse – supporting, empowering and educating those impacted, so they can live a life free of abuse.
They run the national Honour Based Abuse Helpline, train frontline practitioners and professionals, and campaign for change, working with parliamentarians and policy-makers.
The bigger picture
- Nearly a quarter of victims at risk of so called ‘honour’-based abuse are not eligible for tax credits, housing support or other public funded assistance
- 15% of those cases seen by the Forced Marriage Unit are under sixteen
- At least one ‘honour’-based killing happens every month in the UK (very likely to be underestimated)
- 57% of HBV victims visited their GP in the last 12 months and yet only 6% of referrals to specialist services who can help come from health professionals
- 43% of HBV victims are still in a relationship with the perpetrator, compared to 29% of domestic abuse victims (not at risk of HBV)
Over the 16 days we have taken action on a march, pledged our commitment to call out inappropriate comments and actions and we have learnt about the services that support us.
But in the face of some seriously scary facts like, every day 2 women in the UK will be murdered by their partner and that 1 in 3 women will experience abuse during their lifetime. What more can WE do?
Well, we can use our voice and tell those in power that this issue needs more attention. A great commitment to keeping women and girls safe and often a greater financial commitment to enable this.
We are lucky in Exeter that our MP Ben Bradshaw is very supportive but if you would like you can either write your own letter or use one of our templates to contact your MP.
Download the template letter (Word).
What can you ask for?
We have drafted a couple of very basic letters that you are welcome to use, but we do think that if you can make your letter personal to what you think is important this is the best use of your voice.
We have talked to the external support services that we have been working with over the last 16 days and asked them as the experts what needs they see needing to be done and here are some suggestions that you may want to include.
- Increased long term financial commitment to preventative work with young people (especially males) throughout education from an early age in an age-appropriate way.
- Increased long term financial commitment to preventative work with perpetrators.
- Increased long term financial commitment for support work for those agencies working with victims that matches the increase in service use that is being seen.
- Make misogyny a hate crime.
- Prioritise funding for the police and criminal justice system regarding training and dealing with victims of domestic violence, stalking, sexual abuse and honour-based violence to take them seriously and deal with it appropriately.
- Prioritise the seriousness of gendered abuse within the criminal justice system, supporting laws that properly protect women and deal with perpetrators seriously so that sentencing reflects that danger and damage that has been done.
- Make honour-based violence a recognised as domestic abuse and increase awareness about the seriousness of this issue.
- Ensure that all women, inclusive of trans women are included in protection and support
Safety Initiatives
We hate the idea that any of our students or wider community could be harmed by someone but we know we have to try and look at initiatives and resources to help create a safer Exeter.
Night Bus service (Exeter)
The University work with Stagecoach to provide a Night Bus service in Exeter. It runs on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday, from late evening until 4am during term time between the city centre and the Streatham campus.
See the latest UNI route and Night Bus timetable.
You can use all Stagecoach network tickets on this service along with the discounted Unirider tickets. The single fare is only £2 as the University has subsidised the service to keep your fares affordable. Download the stagecoach app to track the live location of the bus and buy tickets.
Student Safety Scheme (Exeter)
The University runs the Student Safety Scheme for students in Exeter: If it’s late, the buses have stopped running, and you’re stranded with no money, you can pay for your Apple Taxi at a later date.
- Book your Apple Taxi to ‘Estate Patrol’ at Northcote House on campus.
- One of the Taxis will take you to the Estate Patrol office
- You sign a docket along with Estate Patrol to confirm your journey details & cost
- Driver waits while you do this & then takes you on to your Halls
- The University charges you the fare plus £2 to take you back to your Halls
Apple Central Taxis provide this service in conjunction with the University of Exeter, and this service is only available during the hours of darkness, and only if you find yourself genuinely stranded with no money.
Nightline
If you feel unsafe while walking, Nightline offer a free confidential helpline between 8pm and 8am during term time. Call them on 01392 724000 and someone from their team of trained student volunteers will stay on the phone with you while you walk.
Ask for Angela
At the Exeter Students’ Guild venues (The Lemon Grove and The Ram), at the Penryn campus (The Stannary) and in many Exeter city venues the Ask for Angela initiative can provide a safe way out of a situation.
If you're in a vulnerable or just uncomfortable situation and need help, ask for "Angela" at the bar or to a member of staff. They will then take you to a safe place in the venue, where a parent, friend or taxi can be called and if necessary the other person asked to leave the venue. Your safety is paramount and staff will have been trained to deal with such a situation.
Best Bar None accredited venues
Look out for Best Bar None accredited bars, cafes, clubs and venues both on and off campus. They display maroon BBN plaques which means the staff are trained to look out for your wellbeing. Ask for Angela also operates in BBN venues.
Street Pastors (Exeter)
Street Pastors help all people, whether or not you have a faith. They offer reassurance, safety and support through listening, caring and helping.
Exeter Street Pastors are out on a Friday and Saturday night in Exeter City Centre
Exeter Safe Space
Exeter’s Safe Space will be equipped and supported by trained volunteers. The facility will ensure victims, or those feeling particularly vulnerable and needed professional support, can do so in a safe space.
Facilities will include:
- Mobile phone charging
- Water/refreshments/warm drinks
- Support calling a taxi
- Space to wait for a night bus
- Somewhere to talk through concerns
- Signposting for further support
- Incident reporting i.e. the police
- Somewhere warm to wait for friends/not be alone
ESS in St Stephens Church opposite Urban outfitters on the main High Street, open 11pm to 3:30am Wednesday, Friday and Saturday evening.
Estate Patrol is a mobile, response based service covering all aspects of security, safety and welfare for staff and students. They are available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Contact Estate Patrol:
- Routine: 01392 723 999
- Emergency: 01392 722 222
Campus Safety Guide
Campus Safety Guide includes information on safer walking routes, CCTV, and tips for staying safe on nights out.
SafeZone
SafeZone is an online app that helps us to help you while on campus, if you request it. It's a quick and easy way to alert Estate Patrol for advice or urgent help when on campus. It alerts the team to your situation and location, so they can support you quickly and effectively. Find out more.
Residence Life Team
Residence Life Teams support students living in University accommodation. They can provide a listening ear, advice on student life and signposting to other support services.
Night patrol
Residence Patrollers work overnight during term time to provide extra security around the accommodation blocks and also to be available for any welfare issues that might occur out of hours.
The Residence Patrollers are available during the night if any student feels that they need to talk with somebody or they have a concern that they would like to discuss but don’t feel comfortable talking to the Estate Patrol Team.
Neighbourhood Beat Manager
Our University Beat Manager is PC Richard Jephcott, whose details can be found on the Community pages.
Bystander Training
Want to step-in when something feels wrong? Seen someone being mistreated, but don’t know how to help? We’re offering special bystander training, which will help you intervene in situations, in a way which can create a positive outcome.
‘Exe-Change the Norm’ is FREE and available to all our students, across all campuses. The four training sessions cover topics including sexism and sexual harassment, partner abuse, racism and racist micro-aggressions. You’ll learn how to effectively step-in to help if you see these sorts of behaviours occur.
This programme is part of the University’s commitment to creating an inclusive environment for all our community.
Consent training
Did you complete the e-module on Consent as part of Registration this year?
If not, now is your opportunity to do so. It has been refreshed working with external experts from Devon Rape Crisis.
Safety Kits
We provide (free of charge) drink testing strips, bottle stoppers and passive alarms to our students which can be collected from Accommodation receptions, the Sports Park and the Ram.
Working in Partnership across the City
Working alongside key partners through the Community Safety Partnership in Exeter, we’ve been able to secure external funding to support enhanced approaches.
The Home Office funded Safety of Women at Night (SWAN) bid last year which led to the creation of a charter and pledges for local businesses and organisations to sign up to and provided training for staff in the NTE and a reinvigoration of the Best Bar None scheme in Exeter.
The University is now leading a successful bid to the Safer Streets 4 fund which will see improved lighting, CCTV, creation of a safe space in the city centre, creation of an education toolkit developed alongside local schools and Bystander Training for NTE partners.