Against Sexual Violence: response to Goldsmiths Students’ Union

Goldsmiths has committed to more than £160,000 of ringfenced funding to the Students’ Union to deliver Against Sexual Violence training over four years, with the College currently in the third year of this agreement.

This student training has not been defunded. There has been a delay in sharing this year’s funds due to ongoing discussions between the College and the Students’ Union about how training will be delivered safely and effectively during the Covid-19 pandemic. The College has asked the Students’ Union to submit detailed plans to ensure training will be delivered and funds will be shared once this has been agreed.

We fully recognise that survivors’ needs must always be at the heart of this work and hope a shared agreement with the Students’ Union can be reached quickly in order for training to take place.

It has always been the responsibility of the Students’ Union to allocate funding for advocacy work across all issues. This advocacy work is paid for using the block grant given by the College to the Students’ Union which was £1.2 million in academic year 2018/19, the last year for which College accounts are available, and which is separate from funding for initiatives like Against Sexual Violence training.

The way Against Sexual Violence work is managed across College was agreed by the project board, which includes student and staff union representation, with an understanding that responsibility for delivering this work would be shared across the College. This is because we want those closest to these issues to have real influence and impact on the College’s approach.

We will continue to review how we deliver this work to ensure we can provide the best possible support for students and staff in this critical area.

---

Page last updated 16 November 2020