Warning: Readers may find some details in this part of the story distressing
Molly Hanning, 22, a master’s student at Royal Holloway, University of London, says the support she received from the university was lacking after she was raped during the Christmas holidays of her first year.
She has waived her right to anonymity to share her experiences with the BBC.
Molly says she was given leaflets as support resources, and was passed on to other external services instead of being given direct help by the university’s support teams.
“They just didn’t to be involved and wanted to pass me to the next person – that was really, really frustrating,” she says.
She says she had to fight to get an appointment by making regular in-person visits to try and get herself seen. When she did get to speak to someone, she says she was made to feel like the issue was too big for the support services to deal with.
She says she was told to “download an app and do meditation”, and that “I would just get over it, and it would take time, but most people just get over it in the first couple of months”.
The lack of support “took a massive toll”, she says, leading to a breakdown in her mental health during her second year of university.
“I would have thought that wellbeing departments at universities would be able to cope with more than just exam stress,” Molly says.
Dr Nick Barratt, who runs the executive team supporting students at Royal Holloway, said they “understand the profound impact that experiences such as Molly’s can have” and are “committed to listening with care and responding with integrity”.
The university also strives to offer “compassionate support”, he said, adding that “we do not wait for harm to occur to create meaningful change for our students, and their voices are vital in shaping the support we provide on an ongoing basis”.
“While not all incidents disclosed to us take place on campus, our responsibility and desire to support our students remains the same,” he said.