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To: Professor David Lloyd, Vice Chancellor and President of the University of South Australia; Professor Laura-Anne Bull, Pro Vice Chancellor of Student Equity and Engagement; UniSA Facilities Management

UniSA, we want women's spaces!

Sign the petition to tell UniSA management that the women of UniSA want a women's room!

Why is this important?

Safe, autonomous spaces are a way for marginalised groups to reclaim an inclusive space that is unique to their own needs, to access support and to find common ground within the university space.

Women’s rooms may be used for:

* Meetings for the Women’s Collective in a safe space, particularly to discuss women’s or feminist issues
* Access to resources, support and referral to counselling services for issues such as sexual assault, harassment and domestic violence
* Feminist events, including book clubs, film nights, or poetry sessions
* A safe space for women to do their studies, or take a break, without fear of harassment
* Parenting or children’s use; breast-feeding without fear of harassment; some spaces have baby-changing tables
* An autonomous space for women of colour to engage in cultural practices; some spaces dedicate certain days in which only women of colour can access the space, and they might use the space to engage in practices such as weaving, for example

Wilbourn (2013, p1) argues that autonomous spaces mean

“Students can actually feel safe and comfortable from threats — real or perceived; physical, emotional, psychological, or ideological.”

Dr Ruth Lewis, Senior Lecturer at Northumbria Univeristy, and Elizabeth Sharpe, Associate Professor at Texas Tech University, hosted focus groups at a women’s conference in the US called the North East Feminist Gathering about women-only spaces.

“We live with a level of fear of expressing ourselves or speaking out, or voicing our real opinions. And consequently we’re looking for a situation where we can put down that fear and express ourselves freely, have some space where it’s okay to say what you really think. It’s not about everybody agreeing or disagreeing or everybody having the same opinion, it’s about being able to listen and share in a way that somehow in mixed company always ends up in a more combative scenario; somebody’s got to be right and somebody’s got to be wrong.

Women said being released from having to defend their feminist politics enabled deep discussions. Deep reflection about politics and identity included participants working through prejudices, egos, competitiveness and being challenged to think about one’s own sexism and stereotypes. In these safe, in-depth exchanges, women could expand themselves, fulfil their potential, and take up their space.

A space that is women-only exhibits women’s potential– you really see how different it is.

It’s a safe environment for us to explore ourselves as women in different ways and to practice being that confident. To me, it is about seeing women be how they can be.””

The UniSA Women’s Collective, National Union of Students’ Women’s Officer, and National Union of Students’ State Women’s Officer has endorsed the move to create a women’s space through letter-writing to the Vice Chancellor and the USASA Student President in 2016. The USASA Student Board in 2016 passed a motion in support of autonomous women’s spaces at the university.

Furthermore, in the roll-out of the USASA Women’s Committee questionnaire in 2016, female students stated their desire for a women’s room.

The following are responses taken from the USASA Women’s Committee questionnaire.

Students were asked what kinds of services they wanted to see for female students. These responses relate to the establishment of a safe, autonomous space in the university:

“A student-led organisation creating a space where women and women-identifying students can feel safe.”

“More social meetups (safe spaces please!) with diverse women to discuss current issues faced in society without being judged.”

“A safer place to work at night at all the campuses with access to computers and possibly a printer.”

“A women's officer and safe spaces for women like other campuses have!!”

“A women’s room for exclusive use by women for study, feeding/changing baby, lunch heating.”

Updates

2017-11-14 17:40:10 +1100

50 signatures reached

2017-11-14 15:17:00 +1100

25 signatures reached

2017-11-14 14:59:18 +1100

10 signatures reached