'People can pretend to be anyone': Woman raped by man posing as student at house party warns of dangers during Freshers' Week
“There’s a culture where if you see a party happening, and you know someone there, you go along"
A woman raped by a man posing as a student in her third year of university has warned of the dangers lurking during Fresher's Week.
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Florence Carter, 21, was raped last September when she was in her final year at Newcastle University.
She said Freshers’ Week - known for being a period filled with parties, pub crawls and club nights - is a unique moment in the academic year when “no one knows anyone” and “people can pretend to be who they want to be".
“There’s a culture where if you see a party happening, and you know someone there, you go along.
“I was going into my third year when the assault happened. That’s why I was so desperate to raise awareness, because you don’t have to be a fresher for this to happen. I thought I knew Freshers’ Week very well.”
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She met her attacker - who she did not realise at the time was not another student - at a house party.
"No one knew him, but no one knew that I didn’t know him because he must have infiltrated the party,” she explained.
"I say the word tricked a lot because that’s what happened to me. I assumed he was a student.
"It was only when he tricked me into coming to his house that he told me he wasn’t. Then I realised he lived alone so I was trapped there with no witnesses."
She said the attack left her "completely in shock".
"I didn’t know what had happened to me. I fully didn’t know how I had survived it. I came home and was very confused."
Florence reached out to the university’s wellbeing service the next day - but said the experience was a "complete waste of time".
"They sent me an automated email with some links to a rape charity. I replied to them to try and access counselling and they never replied to me again."
She filled out a police report eight days later but ultimately ended up closing the case.
"The two officers I dealt with were wonderful but I wasn't eligible for getting a DNA swab because that has to be done within seven days, so it was my case against his.
"The detectives were the phone with me three times a day, I was called to come in for police interviews...it got to a point that I just couldn’t talk about it anymore.
"The system is not set up for someone who needs to reports something really quickly but which they can’t talk about very openly and very easily."
Florence has turned her experience into a campaign to raise awareness around sexual violence at universities, through videos posted on Instagram and TikTok and conducting her own research.
She speaks openly about her own attack and is often asked by young women and parents for tips about how to stay safe.
But she is wary of providing "advice about how not to get raped" adding: "I feel like if someone has decided they’re going to rape you and break the law, they’re going to do it."
"We are told all these things about sexual assault, but we are never told what happens next. My aim is to raise awareness about what happens afterwards so they can act in an informed way."
She recently obtained data through Freedom of Information requests, which showed almost a third of sexual assaults reported at fourteen UK universities last year took place during the first six weeks of the year.
On average 28% of requests for support by victims of sexual violence last year were submitted in September and October, her survey found.
'Particular point of vulnerability'
Jade Blue, the founder of Make Yourself Heard, said Freshers' Week is a “particular point of vulnerability” for young people.
“You have young people arriving somewhere new, and it’s their first time living away from home, they’re meeting new people, going out drinking, finding independence.”
She said universities need to implement “wraparound holistic support” to support victims of sexual violence.
“Universities have budgets for Domino's pizza on Freshers nights. They should also have the budget to really come up with some structured support for students experiencing sexual violence.”
She added that the initial response is often axiomatic in shaping whether a survivor feels confident to proceed through the justice system.
“If that first response is dismissive, that's strong enough to put people off from reporting. And uni's do have a responsibility to keep students safe - in the same way that student halls have a responsibility to ensure safety of their residents."
She said that addressing the issue needs to involve rebuilding confidence in the justice system so survivors feel confident to report an assault, better education about consent and support for young men.
Speaking to LBC's Nick Ferrari, Alex Davies-Jones, the Minister for Victims and Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls, described Florence's story as "shocking".
"Sadly, her experience is not unique," she said when asked what young women should be aware of when starting Freshers' Week.
"I would say to anyone listening here, whether they are freshers or anyone in our country, it's about ensuring that you feel safe in your areas, but also it's about the government doing more to prevent these from happening in the first place.
"Why is it that I felt the need to keep my keys in my hand last night when I'm walking home? Why is that responsibility mine to bear?
"It should be on, you know, those who commit these crimes to say that they shouldn't be doing this, and that is what I'm determined to do in government as well."
A spokesperson for Newcastle University said: "In line with our survivor-led approach, when a student contacts our wellbeing services, an advisor will initially seek to make contact by telephone or in person. The student is made aware of a range of support and reporting options, enabling them to make informed choices about how they would like to proceed.
"We work closely with our Students' Union to provide students with information and resources aimed at preventing sexual violence, while also ensuring they are aware of the support services available should they need them.
"All new and returning students have consent and bystander training as a core part of their online induction, and also have the option of in person training."
A spokesperson for Universities UK said: “Sexual harassment and gender-based violence have absolutely no place in higher education or anywhere else in society.
"Like all organisations, universities are working hard to eradicate sexual assault.
"This includes educating students on consent and providing guidance for staff on how to respond but also, making it easier for people to report incidents which builds a picture of intelligence that can help prevent them in future."
Florence waived her right to anonymity as a victim of a sexual assault.