Ashling Murphy: Men on campus speak up about ending violence against women
Editorial
Following the tragic murder of Ashling Murphy in County Offaly, the public conversation around how to end violence against women and girls has been reignited. Female students in Belfast and Northern Ireland are understandably angry and fearful, and many are asking what men here are actively doing to prevent acts of gendered violence from taking place, both on university campuses and in wider society.
Leading men on campus have their say.
Yi Kang Choo - QUB Student of the Year (The SU Awards 2021)
Based on my personal experiences of witnessing female peers being victims of male violence and threats in the past, there are some important steps that I think the whole male student community should follow to ensure that campus is a safe place for everyone:
Be an Active Bystander. Be observant around campus. If someone’s behaviour towards a female student is inappropriate or threatening, challenge it or take safe steps to help them.
Be Sensitive and Considerate. Be mindful of speech and actions, both online and in-person. Inappropriate comments and actions make female students feel uncomfortable and unsafe, whether intentionally or not.
Stop Victim-Blaming. If a female student tells you about an incident of harassment or bullying, provide any support you can and be empathetic. Never blame the victim, nor engage in victim-blaming conversations with others.
Tom Brooke-Webb - QUB Men’s Rugby Club president
After the tragic passing of Ashling Murphy, the entire public has been evaluating what steps need to be taken to ensure that crimes against women are prevented. It shouldn’t take any woman to be murdered, at any time, for men to revaluate their behaviours and to begin addressing these issues. The best outcome within Queen’s is to ensure this tragedy is used as a foundation, not only to cement the protocols already in place, but to better educate men and boys in our university and sports teams that women and girls should always be treated with respect. Men need to listen to the concerns of our female teammates, friends, fellow students and colleagues, but also need to begin inciting change ourselves.
Lorcan McIlroy - QUB Men’s Soccer Club co-president
We should all be concerned as a society about the recent tragic death of Ashling Murphy. There are no excuses for male violence against women and it needs to stop - it’s inexcusable. Everyone, regardless of their gender, should be able to feel safe at all times; to do what they want, when they want, both on campus or beyond. Everyone has the right to live their life without the threat of violence. As men, we should encourage women to reach out to us, and be willing to help them if asked. If we witness, or women tell us that they have been subject to gender-based abuse or violence, we need to speak out and report it.
Eoin McCaul - The Scoop opinion editor
The epidemic of violence against women must stop. Focusing on what precautions women can take to be safe is a disgusting way to frame the solution, with the victim blamed for not protecting themselves enough. This murder shows the ridiculousness of this response; Ashling was jogging in broad daylight in an area that she thought was safe. Toxic masculinity that reinforces and encourages aggressive behaviour must be combatted directly by other men. Talking about emotions needs to be normalised to prevent men from becoming isolated and bitter, to the point where they become misogynistic monsters who blame all of their problems on women.
Matthew Taylor - QUB student councillor & co-founder of Pure Mental NI
For Ashling Murphy,
Rest in Peace.
A bird, skimming, for but an instant, the
water’s surface,
Rippling, in textured plumes of fluxed beauty,
All language is prosaic in this cruel wake
I have weaponised nostalgia
This loss, seeing the world as loss, each hello
signalling some end
Fear; to walk these streets, to breathe this air,
to make shapes of defiance with our lips
Against a symphony of voices
She is every woman
All are ubiquitous now, and we are left with
little else but grief and anger, and what is
wasted
We are but cacophony to the
incomprehensibility of injustice
We have lost too soon,
And so we carry out in tribute, the day she
couldn’t,
We skim the rivers edge, in full sheen, in her
example,
Rippling, ceaselessly,
We shall never be silent.
The Students’ Union have also provided a statement regarding their efforts in this area:
Consent has long been a priority issue for the Students’ Union, both on campus and beyond. We are soon launching a new Consent Campaign which aims to promote a culture of consent on campus and address the roots of sexual violence through challenging misogynistic attitudes, empowering students with knowledge and providing them with a platform to affect change. This is part of a wider campaign that includes lobbying the NI Executive to include students in their consultation on Violence Against Women and Girls and seeking fit-for-purpose sex education in schools. Any student interested in taking part is encouraged to contact the campaign leader, Niamh Oddy (Equality and Diversity Officer).
While the work highlighted here by QUBSU is undoubtedly important and beneficial, the everyday role of men in combatting this issue cannot be overstated. The male student community has a responsibility to ensure campus and wider society is a safe and comfortable place for women to live and work in.