Sexual Violence - Help and Support

If you are in immediate danger and need urgent help, please contact the emergency services by calling 999.

If you or someone else requires urgent support you can:

• Diall 999 if you are reporting a crime that is in progress or if someone is in immediate danger or for life-threatening emergencies. If you cannot speak you may also be asked to cough or tap the keys on your phone to answer questions. From a mobile if you can’t speak or answer questions, press 55 or tap when prompted and your call will be transferred to the police. The police will usually be able to find your location.
• Inform University Security Dial +44 (0)29 2087 4444: if the situation involves: imminent danger, suicidal intention, possessing a weapon, threats of harm, physical injury, death of a student or terrorism.
• If you need medical assistance but are unsure if it is an emergency, the NHS in Wales offers 24/7 support. Dial 111 or visit NHS 111 Wales.
• NHS Urgent Mental Health Helpline can be contacted by calling 111 and pressing option 2.

Report and Support

• Report and Support is an online tool to report incidents of violence, abuse, threats, hate crime and mental health concerns to access support. It can also be used by staff and members of the public to report on behalf of or in relation to Cardiff University students.
• Users can choose to make a report anonymously or give details about themselves. There is also an option to report on behalf of someone else.
• You can access the Report and Support tool here.
• If you feel that you or the person concerned requires immediate support, please access the emergency services NOT the Report and Support process.
• Responsibility for responding to and providing support to those who use the Report and Support tool will sit in the Student Support Intervention Team. This new team combines two existing teams: the Disclosure Response team and the Student Intervention team.

Further information about the service can be found here.

Student Advice

• Student Advice is open from 10am to 4pm weekdays. If you have urgent concerns that you wish to discuss in confidence, call 02920781410 or visit Student Advice on the 3rd floor of the Students Union Building Park place CF10 3QN.
• You just need to say you have an urgent concern and need to speak to an adviser. We are independent of the University. We will listen to you and help you access the help and support you need.
• We can also advise you if you have concerns about your studies, reporting extenuating circumstances, taking a break from study, and making a complaint about another student. We can advise if you feel unsafe in your accommodation and want to move out, or have no where to live.

Sexual Violence Support Services

Immediate advice after a sexual assault following a sexual assault can be found here.

• Ynys Saff or Safe Island is a sexual assault referral centre (SARC) support and advice to men, women, children and young people, following sexual assault in Cardiff and the Vale. To access this service you can call 02920 335795 (out of hours leave a message and staff will call back).

 

• Live Fear Free is a 24/7 helpline providing help and advice about violence against women, domestic abuse and sexual violence.
• Call 0808 8010 800
• Text 07860077333
• Email info@livefearfreehelpline.wales

 

• BAWSO (support service for Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic Women). BAWSO is an all-Wales provider delivering specialist services to people from black and ethnic minority backgrounds who are affected by domestic abuse and other forms of abuse, including Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), forced marriage, human trafficking/slavery and prostitution.
• Call 0800 731 8147
• Visit the BAWSO website

 

• Galop is a helpline is for LGBT+ people experiencing abuse or violence, such as hate crime, domestic abuse, sexual violence, so-called “conversion therapy” or any other kind of abuse.
• Call 0800 999 5428 (Opening hours here)
• Email help@galop.org.uk

 

• Men's Advice Line is available to provide advice and support for men experiencing domestic violence and abuse.
• Call 0808 801 0327

Rape and Sexual Assault

Sexual violence can take place in or outside of a relationship. Sex without a person’s consent due to drugs, alcohol or unconsciousness is considered as rape and assault by penetration.

Consent can only be given if:

• someone has the capacity to give their consent
• someone is free to make the choice to consent.

Sexual assault is considered to be unwanted touching of a sexual nature.

Sexual violence within in a relationship

Being with someone does not determine your consent to a sexual act.

With any sexual encounter there should be freedom and capacity to choose to participate, which might not be possible if someone is under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

Consent is to be given and can be taken back at any time.

Sexual harassment and stalking

Sexual harassment is unwanted conduct of a sexual nature, which can include unwanted touching, kissing, verbal and non-verbal behaviour. Harassment can be in person, online or via other means such as stalking. Examples of stalking include following a person, watching or spying on them or forcing contact through any means, including social media.

Other forms of sexual violence

Other forms of sexual violence include:

• sexual exploitation, trafficking and slavery
• non-consensual sharing of sexual images/videos
• sextortion
• revenge porn.

Violence related to gender

Women are disproportionately affected by violence and abuse compared to men. Therefore, gender-based violence is a specific term used to describe violence against women and girls. This includes any experience of:

• relationship abuse (domestic violence)
• rape, sexual assault and sexual violence
• harassment and stalking
• forced marriage
• honour-based violence
• female genital mutilation
• trafficking and forced prostitution
• sexual exploitation (including through the sex industry)
• coercive control
• sextortion (webcam blackmail).

Download the Safezone app

Cardiff University provides all students with access to a SafeZone app, where you can contact University Security directly by sharing your location and communicating quickly via text message. If you feel unsafe anywhere on campus, you can use the SafeZone app to report this and seek immediate assistance. It will also show you where you are on campus in a variety of formats.

Contact Student Advice

Advice@cardiff.ac.uk
+44 (0)2920 781410