Ayrshire College to mark 16 days of action with student exhibition event
Ayrshire College will mark 16 days of action, an international campaign to end violence against women and girls, with a student exhibition on its Ayr, Kilmarnock and Kilwinning campuses between the 5 and 7 December 2022.
The exhibition will showcase students work from eight different College courses and aims to raise awareness of domestic abuse and coercive control including support available to those who are or have experienced any form of gender based violence.
The College’s Police Liaison Officer PC Claire Bysouth, who with the College’s Equality and Diversity Lead Sara Turkington devised this student project, said: “Tackling domestic abuse and raising awareness of coercive control as a form of abuse is very much a priority of the College and Police Scotland – it is crucial students and staff recognise the signs of abuse and are aware of available support. The student exhibition, which has been a collaborative effort, we hope will fulfil this aim and also, most importantly, encourage victims to reach out and seek help.”
Kerrin Carr, Essential Skills Lecturer, said: “I am very impressed with the NQ Photography students’ level of enthusiasm and commitment to this 16 Days of Action project; they approached the brief with the seriousness that it deserves and carefully examined the issue, working together positively to create a collection of eight images that they feel represents the idea of a coercive control relationship, and, of the idea that support is available, if and when needed. This collaborative project has provided quality Essential Skills unit evidence and I am proud of the way the class have fully embraced this challenge.”
Students, staff and College partners are invited to view the 16 days of action student exhibition, which will also include live performances from HNC Acting and Performance students and information stalls, on the following dates between 10am-2pm:
Monday 5 December, Kilmarnock Campus Tuesday
6 December, Kilwinning Campus Wednesday
7 December, Ayr Campus
In addition to the student exhibition, during 16 days of the action (25 November – 10 December), PC Claire Bysouth and Sara Turkington will be providing student and staff sessions on domestic abuse and coercive control; offering drop-ins; and supporting the Reclaim the Night walks across Ayrshire on Tuesday 6 December 2022. The East Ayrshire Reclaim the Night walk will start (at 6pm) and end at Kilmarnock Campus, Ayrshire College.
Angela Cox, Principal and Chief Executive – Ayrshire College, said: “Ayrshire College is fully committed to ensuring its students and staff are both supported and enabled to access support, when they are ready, if they are or have experienced any form of gender based violence. By marking 16 days of action this year in the many ways planned, the College recognises gender based violence is pervasive and hugely damaging to the fabric of the college community and in the local communities we serve. As Principal and Chief Executive of Ayrshire College, I endorse the need to raise awareness so that we can collectively tackle and end gender based violence everywhere.”
More information about gender based violence is available on the Ayrshire College Report + Support webpage, visit: https://reportandsupport.ayrshire.ac.uk/
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