This time last year it was only one person designing a dress in order to raise money for charities tackling issues of sexual violence and now we have ten! The Campaign's first year has been unbelievably rewarding in so many ways, but also incredibly difficult. Nothing can prepare you for seeing just how little your University cares for your welfare. Last year not one person was expelled for sexual misconduct. Penalties for academic shortcomings and cheating are still far more severe than they are for perpetrators of sexual violence. In fact, it wouldn’t be a far cry to say reporting of assault at this institution is discouraged. Not only has the University’s disciplinary body failed to protect us, but even on a college level support is scarce. After combing through reporting procedures for all the colleges, compiling spreadsheets, endless meetings and tragically large numbers of people coming forward with their story this has been a challenging year. But the more you dig the worse it gets and therefore the more that needs to be done, and by going to such lengths we hope that End Sexual Violence as a Campaign has brought hope and awareness to the University and its student body of the severity of the issues.

We as a team are so unbelievably excited to have expanded this project and are thrilled so many people have decided to get involved. As the founder (Miriam) I remember the creativity of the project making it so much easier for me to use my voice on a topic that is too often considered taboo or shameful. This made connecting with people on the matter much more personal and freeing in a way. Since starting this campaign, I can safely say it is one of the most important things in my life, and if I had listened to that voice in my head saying ‘you will lose friends over this’ or ‘you can’t handle this’ or ‘everyone will see you differently’ then I would not be as comfortable in my skin or who I am today. A comfort I thought I would never feel again. So, thank you to everyone who has supported the campaign in its founding year!

This year we will be raising money for Everyone’s Invited and Cambridge Rape Crisis Centre. The former seeks to provide a safe space for survivors and education in schools and universities about the extremity of the issue. This type of education is essential to young people and encourages the disarming of the stigma. Cambridge Rape Crisis Centre is of course very close to our hearts and helps insurmountable numbers of people at this institution. It remains one of the most important safe spaces for those affected at this University.

We have a number of volunteers this year who are designing outfits for the May Ball season, all of which speak to issues of sexual violence in their own powerful and unique ways. We will be revealing each look on our Instagram page over the coming days, each with a discussion by our volunteers on the specifics of the design and how the cause resonates with them.

It's going to be an exciting year!