Your UnSlut Project

Submitted by @SamieSands, Author of the "Lockdown" series

You think by the time you hit 18 and go to University, things will be different, we will have all grown up and bullying and slut shaming will have stopped. Well, that is certainly the thought I had, but I couldn't have been more wrong.

The Halls of Residence, where we were all set to live for the next 12 months, were divided into six sections, three all girls and three all boys. With new found freedom, alcohol and the close quarters between the sexes, there was certainly some fraternising, particularly in the first few weeks. The first fortnight was all events for first years – most of them involving drinking and silly behaviour. As no one really knew each other, it allowed the loosening of social boundaries so friendships could be formed quickly.

However, then the time for studying occurred, so a lot of the silliness was forced to a halt, and that's when a lot of the true personalities started to shine, particularly among the girls (although by this time I think it would be fair to call them women). Rumours, name calling, and general bitchiness became rife.

There was one girl who had gone particularly wild in the first few weeks and had become entangled with a few boys, and the nastiness towards her was awful. There was no escape for her, we all studied in the same building, and lived in close proximity, so there was no end for the bullying.

There was a main sect of 'mean girls' who I can only assume where jealous of this girl, because they were the ones who instigated the nastiness, and took it to a physical level. The name calling became hair pulling, slapping, photographing in the shower, posting awful pictures online, they even locked her in her room one day so she missed all of her lectures.

Of course a few people stood up to the bullies, and got sucked into what was slowly becoming an unwinnable war. It seemed insane that someone was being branded a slut, when almost everyone was behaving a little more freely in this new environment.

Of course, slut shaming is unacceptable no matter what the age of the victim, but when everyone is adult enough to be making their own decisions, and everyone is acting in exactly the way they want to, it's utterly ridiculous.

Eventually, on one drunken night, it resulted in a huge brawl. A lot of people got involved and most people got hurt. It was an unfortunate incident, but it bought it to the attention of the University principal. After an extensive probe, the main people were expelled from the university, but by this point the guys had gotten wind of what was going on.

The poor girl never managed to shake the reputation of being 'easy' and would be harassed on every single night out. She left University before completing her degree. Everything about the event was unpleasant, but it certainly opened my eyes to the way of the world. What I'd always assumed was childish behaviour, still has a place in the adult world.

I've seen it a lot in places I've worked. Slut shaming should never be acceptable – it's madness that in 2014, it still goes on. Something needs to change!

Samie Sands is a 28 year old freelance graphic designer who has recently decided to follow her lifelong dream and use her creativity in a new way by writing. She lives in a small seaside town in the UK, but loves to travel to gain inspiration from new places and different cultures.

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