URGENT ACTION: Protest outside the final of Miss University GB

Added on 24/02/2010

We have just become aware that the final of Miss University GB will take place on Monday 1st March, in Cardiff. In order to continue our campaign against objectification in student unions, and in order to meet mandates from women's conference, and women's committee, the NUS Women's Campaign is calling an emergency protest.

Where - Outside the Oceana Nightclub, Cardiff (Click here for a map)

When - Meet at 6pm, protest will last until approximately 8pm

What to bring - bring placards, banners from your women's society, whistles and your friends!

What to do now - reply to this email to let us know you are planning on coming, so we can get an idea of numbers

What to do on the night - When you arrive you should be able to see a group gathering. If you can't see us, call one of these two numbers:

                                      Olivia Bailey (NUS National Women's Officer) - 07855 041861

                                      Estelle Hart  (NUS Wales Women's Officer) - 07919 343034

 Women have campaigned hard over the last century to gain access to University, and to win the right to be judged on the strength of our opinions and not our looks.  Beauty pageants such as Miss University GB undermine these hard-fought gains and send the dangerous message that it is ok to value women purely on a narrow conception of beauty that bears little relation to the majority of women.

The NUS Women's Campaign wants to stress that this is in no way a protest against the individual women who are participating in the competition. We respect their right to be involved, and we wish them all the best in the competition. 

Our protest is against Miss University GB, and against organisations that seek to profit from the objectification and commodification of women. We are protesting the mainstreaming of an industry that places an expectation on women to conform to an unrealistic and one-dimensional standard of beauty, and against the spread of sex object culture in student unions across the country.

Join us on Monday night. Stand up and say that all women students are beautiful.

If you can't join us in Cardiff on Monday, then please consider sending a letter to the owners of the Oceana nightclub to ask them to reconsider hosting the event. Contact details can be found on this template letter.

In sisterhood,

Liv & Estelle 

Liv Bailey                                                       Estelle Hart  

Nus National Women's Officer                     NUS Wales Women's Officer

Registration for NUS Women's Conference - Register now!

Added on 23/02/2010

This is a reminder to register your delegates for women's conference! The registration deadline is 5pm, this Friday 26th February. After this point, there will be a late registration fee.

Every union is entitled to send one delegate completely free, and is allowed to pay for additional observers to be sent. This year, to tackle the underrepresentation of black women in the campaign, you are also able to send an additional black woman observer for free.

You can register a delegate by following this link - http://www.regonline.co.uk/Checkin.asp?EventId=764295. If you get stuck with the registration process, please contact Olivia Bailey for assistance.

NUS Women's Conference is the most important event of the women's campaign's calendar. The conference sets the direction of the campaign over the next year. There will be policy debates on all of these motions - http://resource.nusonline.co.uk/media/resource/WSC_CD2_Motions_2010.pdf.

 There will be also be the election of the national women's officer, the election of the women's committee and the election of the NEC representative for the women's campaign. Deelegates can stand for the committee or for the NEC by nominating themselves at conference.

And, as well as the policy and elections, there will also be a wide variety of workshops and speakers throughout the three days - as well as excellent feminist entertainment, and the chance to meet and get to know women's campaign activists from across the country.

Women's conference is always hugely inspiring for everyone that comes, and is also really, really fun. We look forward to seeing lots of you there.

I WILL lead the way

Added on 22/01/2010

The Women's Campaign has just held a very successful training day to help improve women's representation in the student movement. The day, which was held in a Women's Community Centre in London, focussed on encouraging the women attending to stand, and also to develop skills to be able to encourage the involvement of other women in their union.

A briefing and template workshop on how to get more women involved in your union was launched at the day. The I WILL lead the way pack can be downloaded here.

Please use this pack to think of ways you can help get more women involved in your union. At the moment, only 25% of student union presidents are women, and only 1 of 5 NUS Vice Presidents is a woman. The picture of women's representation across the country is stark - and we are all in a position to do something about it.

I WILL Lead the Way - Registration Open

Added on 10/12/2009

 Are you a woman student who would like to empower more women to stand in your Students’ Union’s elections?

Are you a woman student who is interested in running for a sabbatical position in your Students’ Union? 

Are you a woman student who currently is a Students’ Union Sabbatical or part time Officer and would like to run for election again or encourage other women to run for election?

Are you a woman student who thinks that more women should be in leadership positions in your Institution?

If your answer is yes to any of the four questions above, then you should register to attend I WILL: Lead the Way, a one-day training event which is being ran by NUS Women’s Campaign. This event will take place in London on Tuesday 19^th January 2009 and is aimed at women student union officers and other women student activists interested in taking up sabbatical or part time SU positions. The event will:

• Offer skills and tips on being women in leadership positions
• Offer guidance and best practice on running elections & campaigning
• Give you practical tips to empower women to get involved in your union
• Learn why feminism and the women's campaign go hand in hand with women's representation

The workshops will be run by inspirational women who have achieved success in leadership positions and/or ran campaigns for women running for election. This will include one of Gordon Brown’s special advisers, who will be running a public speaking workshop, and a women’s leadership training organisation, who will be running a session on confidence building.

The event is going to be held in London and will cost £30 to HE Delegates and £15 for FE Delegates. This is inclusive of lunch and refreshments.

To register for this event, please click here.

Places are limited, so book your place now to avoid disappointment and join us to lead the way as women.

This event is for women only, inclusive of trans women.

Women Students and Experiences of Violence

Added on 25/11/2009

Please help us end violence against women students

The NUS Women's Campaign has now launched its survey in to women students' experience of harassment, violence, sexual assault and stalking. The survey aims to uncover the specific experiences of women students in relation to violence, how it affects their education, and to establish how safe or unsafe women students feel in different environments.

Please go here to find out more and to complete the survey - www.nus.org.uk/vaw

The Women's Campaign will be launching a research report in the new year, detailing our findings. We will also be making recommendations for changes to ensure better support for those who have experienced violence as well as strategies for preventing it.

The survey is open to all women students, including trans women. The survey will be live until the 4th January.

 In order for us to get a complete and accurate picture of violence against women students, we need as many women students as possible to fill out this survey. And, we need your help to achieve this!

To help us end violence against women students, please take the time to forward the below information to women in your union, your friends, and anyone at all who you think would fill it in. And, please do fill it out yourself as well - click here to do this.

If you have any questions at all, please email Olivia Bailey.

Please copy and paste the message below and forward it to your student contacts/networks:

**Complete the NUS Women's Campaign Survey in to Women Students' Experience of Violence**

The NUS Women's Campaign is pleased to announce the launch of our survey exploring women students' experiences of harassment, violence, sexual assault and stalking. The survey aims to uncover the specific experiences of women students in relation to violence, how it affects their education, and to establish how safe or unsafe women students feel in different environments.

The Women's Campaign will be launching a research report of our findings in the new year. We will also make recommendations for changes to ensure better support for those who have experienced violence as well as strategies for preventing it.

Regardless of whether or not you have experienced any kind of violence or harassment, your answers will help us to understand and deal with issues of violence against women students.

Please help us stop violence against women by filling in this survey.

Please go here to complete the survey - www.nus.org.uk/vaw.

The survey is open to all women students, including trans women. The survey will be live until 4 January.

We want this survey to be completed by as many women as possible so that we get a complete and accurate picture of violence against women students. Please fill this survey out, and then forward it to your as many of your friends as possible.

If you have any questions about the survey, please do e-mail me.

Liv Bailey

NUS National Women's Officer

olivia.bailey@nus.org.uk