Volunteers to protect Cardiff students from sexual abuse

NUS Wales says students should be able to go out and drink without fear of sexual harassment

Volunteers are to patrol Cardiff nightclubs over fresher's week to help female students who experience sexual harassment.

NUS Wales is running the scheme so students can report incidents.

Alcohol education charity, Drinkaware, says more than half of all of 18-24 year-old female students had experienced this kind of abuse.

It tops the list of risks for female students on a night out, coming ahead of having an accident, or passing out.

Ellen Jones, women's officer at NUS Wales, said she aims to hold "bystander workshops" in every student union in Wales.

She added: "It is a massive issue. People are leaving home for the first [time], and they get very excited and drunk.

"It's quite normalised. Girls expect to go out and receive this kind of behaviour from men. People get into this pack culture.

"Stand up to your friends and say 'that's not just banter, that's wrong'.

'Lad culture'

All three of the capital's universities - Cardiff University, University of South Wales, and Cardiff Metropolitan University - now have a Safe Taxi Scheme.

If a student is vulnerable and alone with no money at the end of the night, there's an agreement with Dragon Taxis that the student union pays for their ride home.

Last year, NUS Wales ran "I love consent" workshops, raising awareness of sexual consent, while Cardiff University ran a campaign to combat "lad culture".

Ben Butler from Drinkaware said: "Young people shouldn't have to put up with sexual harassment as part of a night out.

"Touching another person in a sexual way without their consent is legally defined as sexual assault."