A group of university students is looking to launch a scheme which will see volunteers walk students home after a night out.
The group, headed by Cardiff University genetics student Alastair Babington and his four housemates, decided to suggest launching the scheme in reaction to the three alleged sexual assaults which were reported in the city in September 2015.
The Safe Walk Scheme proposes to offer vulnerable students the assistance of two volunteers to make sure they get home safely.
And the group has so far seen more than 40 willing student volunteers join the dedicatedFacebook group.
Alastair said he had been thinking about launching a campaign of this sort for a while having been inspired by a similar scheme in Durham, and took it upon himself to encourage his flatmates to help him get it started.
So, how would it work?
One of those housemates, Catherine Iannucci, who studies history and politics, will be leading the scheme alongside Alastair, and she said: “No-one goes out of their way to put themselves in dangerous situations, but if you’re with your friends in a club and you want to leave but none of the others do, it puts you in a really difficult situation.”
The group hopes to take up a room in the Students’ Union building on Park Place, where those who request or visibly need to be walked home will have two volunteers to assist them.
The scheme would run on Wednesday and Saturday nights, when the union hosts its two main club events.
Volunteers taking part in the scheme will be equipped with communication radios, high vis clothing, first aid kits, maps and rape alarms, and the group are hoping to give the volunteers confrontation and first aid training before they work their first shifts.
But how would the volunteers get home safely?
Catherine, 20, added: “If potential attackers see people in high-vis jackets walking a vulnerable person home rather than them being alone, that’s definitely going to act as a detterent.”
Volunteers’ safety will also be a priority to the group, and they will be walked home by each other after work.
The scheme will run between midnight and 3am, with walks being carried out on the hour, and regularly reporting back using the equipment.
Want to get involved?
The group is looking at recruiting students by asking them to do as much or as little as they want to do, and hopes to branch out to other popular student venues around the city if the scheme proves a success.
There are ongoing talks with the Student Union and their volunteering service, and it is hoped the scheme will start operating in time for the university’s Easter holidays.
If you’re a Cardiff University student and want to get involved, email cardiffSWS@hotmail.com or visit their Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/groups/1629419423989975/
SEE-http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/cardiff-students-offering-walk-students-10667497
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