Hardcore porn, choking and rape: UK universities left to tackle rising tide of sexual assaults

Universities are gearing up this term for what is becoming an increasingly frequent and difficult problem.

Many victims are unwilling to go to the police because they know the justice system is slow, traumatic and rarely results in conviction for rape.

Experts say issues around consent at university are becoming more complicated, with strangling referred to as choking often a feature of sexual assault complaints.

Women’s liberation officer for Edinburgh University students’ union says she was totally unprepared for what they put her through’ She wants freshers to understand how to be an active bystander, stepping in when something doesn’t feel right.

Ellie Wilson , who saw the boyfriend who raped her while a student at Glasgow University , was convicted in court last year .

This is not common practice in universities yet, but he hopes it could help to stem the growing tide of sexual violence across the sector. “The vast majority of young men I’ve worked with in this group start to question their actions by the end,” he says. “You see them realise that their whole life could be derailed because they are making bad decisions.”.