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Hertford College create Women’s Officer position in JCR

Hertford JCR has voted to recreate the position of Women’s Officer.

A constitutional change was required for the proposal, with a two thirds majority required for the motion to pass.

The meetings did not go entirely smoothly, with an amendment tabled that caused a “heated debate”, according to a third year Hertford student. Though ultimately defeated, the amendment sought to alter the post to a ‘Gender Equalities’ role.

With 65 for, nine against, and eight abstentions, the proposal passed with a 79 per cent majority. This now allows for the election of a Women’s Officer. The role is yet to be filled.

Alice Vacani, who is chair of the OUSU Harassment Policy Working Group, carried out an anonymous survey of Hertford women that found the majority of women who have experienced harassment were in favour of recreating a Women’s Officer post.

She then proposed the re-introduction of the position, saying, “It was an important position that was currently not represented within the student body.”

With regard to the attempted renaming of the role to ‘Gender Equalities Officer’, Vacani says that such a title would have “simply confused members of the JCR as to the purpose of the rep” and that a Women’s Officer is required to lobby for women who are “still disadvantaged in many ways – from the finals gap to sexual violence, many issues disproportionately affect women compared to men”.

The Women’s Officer, according to the Hertford JCR constitution, is responsible for, amongst other things: lobbying for women’s right within ollege, ensuring policy is inclusive of women, liaising with the tutor for women and JCR Welfare Officers, and organizing consent workshops. The role can only be held by “an individual who identifies wholly as a woman or with a complex ender identity encompassing woman” and can only be elected by such individuals.

Aliya Yule, WomCam Officer, commented,“WomCam is so excited to hear that Hertford has introduced a Women’s Officer position in its JCR. It is vital that colleges introduce better liberation reps – including Women’s Officers, Disabled Students’ Officers, BME/ students of Colour Oficers, and LGBTQ officers – for better representation and to ensure that marginalised voices are listened to within the university.”

Helen Thomas, Women’s Officer for St Anne’s JCR, said, “I’m very pleased bout this great outcome for Hertford. Changing the title to Gender Equalities Rep would have done women at Hertford a disservice.

“It is really important for society to realise that discrimination which is levelled at men often comes about due to the systematic oppression of women,” she added.

Anna Bradshaw, the OUSU VP for Women, was present at the second meeting and commented, “The specific representation of women is essential in all common rooms, and I know that Women’s Officers and Reps in many colleges do some really fantastic work.”

Bradshaw informed Cherwell that New College MCR has also created a Women’s Officer role in their committee this term.

 

Analysis: Mary Reader argues that creating a Women’s Officer position should not be seen as “reverse sexism” 

We still live in a patriarchal society. University is no exception to this rule. 

The very institutional setup of Oxford, I believe, works to reinforce existing patriarchal assumptions and patterns of behaviour. Our society is still dominated by the idea of men as breadwinners and women as caregivers. Within academia, our adversarial style of discourse is generally catered towards self-aggrandisement rather than increased understanding. One of my friends was told by their tutor to “write more like a man” in their essays, because that’s the style of writing that achieves a First. 

No wonder 71.2 per cent of Philosophy academics are men. When women are mostly being taught by men, reading books written by men, and being told to write like men, it is hardly surprising that gender inequality exists in an academic context. 

This institutional sexism rests upon socially constructed gender roles. Patriarchal societal norms permeate all walks of life, affecting the way in which men treat women, the way women interact with one another, and the way women see themselves. 

It is undeniable that there is a ‘lad culture’ in Oxford – rugby crewdates, ‘sharking’ and sexual harassment – that requires active challenge.

When one in four women have had experience of sexual harassment at university in the UK, and a significant number of young people don’t understand the meaning of consent, it is absolutely vital that we educate people about these things, which disproportionately affect women. 

It is also imperative that we provide effective support that caters to the needs of those who are victims of sexual harassment, rape or intimidation.

This is why, given the fact that women are still structurally oppressed, we need Women’s Officers rather than the watered-down, less specific role of Gender Equalities Officers.

Some believe that by describing the position as a Women’s Officer entails a kind of reverse sexism. However, this is premised upon a misunderstanding of the aims of liberation movements; the idea of ‘reverse sexism’ is itself highly flawed. For sexism, like racism, is the result of both prejudice and power.

It is the same misunderstanding that causes men, and women, to refuse the label of feminist on the grounds that it means you somehow place women’s rights above those of men. In fact, intersectional feminism struggles for the liberation of all genders.

To a certain extent, we might ask ourselves “what’s in a name?” But so long as we live in a patriarchal society, having a specific ‘Women’s Officer’ in our colleges is a necessary measure to tackle gender inequality and oppression.

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