City of York Council, York St John University and North Yorkshire Police have all gathered to discuss the issue of Violence Against Women and Girls as part of Stalking Awareness Week 2026.
Women’s Aid found that 93% of all women had experienced street harassment, including whistling, leering, and sexually explicit language. Behaviour that impacted the victims’ long-term actions, such as, avoiding areas and not going out alone.
Student Voice
The safety and respect of women on the York St John University Campus has been questioned recently after the weekly Karaoke Night at the Student Union was ruined by men “harassing and jeering” at women.
Multiple students have shared their experiences of the “£1 a Pint Karaoke Night” on an anonymous Instagram account set up by a York St John Student, @yorkjohnfess.
I spoke to the anonymous founder of @yorkjohnfess, who expressed the importance of student voice. “I believe the uni has not done enough to provide a student voice and that is a strong reason for my account’s success.
“Having an anonymous place to express these problems has allowed a number of students to feel more represented in general, by allowing their words, as they write them, to be public, without risk of consequences.”
The University did release a statement regarding this incident, they say: “A culture of sexual harassment is absolutely not tolerated at York St John, and in addition to compulsory Consent Matters training, we have specialist sexual violence liaison officers, 24-hour security on campus and a robust report and support process.”
Start Safe, Stay Safe
I also spoke to the Deputy Mayor of York and North Yorkshire,Jo Coles, who launched the Start Safe, Stay Safe app for women and girls to report street harassment.
All About Respect
In 2024, York St John University announced the expansion of the “All About Respect” Project. First rolled out in North Yorkshire in 2023, the project aimed to tackle gender-based violence and harassment by visiting schools and providing bystander training.
Co-founder of the Project Dr Melanie Dawn Douglass, spoke to me about All About Respect, “It’s the idea of mobilising bystanders to do something, because it changes the social perceptions around the acceptability of these behaviours.
“When asked what her advice would be to students who may feel uneasy after recent events, and worry about going out, Douglass stated, “being a good friend, watching and standing out for each other.
There is always going to be more bystanders than victims and perpetrators, so if bystanders all look out for each other, it can take the power away from the perpetrator.”
