Say It Loud launch campaign for compulsory ‘masculinity’ workshops for male uni students

An Oxford Brookes sexual assault support group is campaigning to make it compulsory for male-identifying students at universities to be educated through workshops about positive masculinity.

Say It Loud, the group started by Brookes student Meredith, launched the campaign to tackle “lad culture” and “toxic masculinity”.

In December, the university said it was investigating allegations of a rugby social where “everyone had to try and get as many nudes from Brookes girls as possible.” Brookes Rugby Union also said they were investigating.

The campaign details problems with “lad culture” such as “slut-dropping”, where men offer to take women home and then leaving them miles away from their home; “hazing”, embarrassing activities that sometimes take place at sports socials such as pouring food over people and making them do humiliating things; and “going on the pull”, where men go out looking for women to have sexual intercourse with.

The campaign then goes on to detail how the group believes it should be compulsory for male-identifying students at university to attend workshops that teach them positive masculinity to put a stop to “lad culture”.

The petition highlights how universities need to do more, saying all staff and students should “have the tools and confidence to challenge forms of lad culture and oppression.”

The campaign also calls for a “diverse environment to educate each other” on lad culture, oppression and understanding the importance of sexual consent.

In December, the university said: “The university is aware of allegations circulating on social media. We take such allegations extremely seriously and are investigating them as a matter of urgency.”

Brookes Rugby Union said: “We are investigating this along with the Union, and all relevant bodies. At this current time we have no comment to make.”

You can sign the petition here and find Say It Loud’s Instagram page here.

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