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Pro-Life Society: a joint statement from the University and Students' Union

11 Mar 2024

A statement provided to our students earlier today, Monday 11 March

John Owens arches

We recognise the unease and concern that some members of our University community have felt in recent weeks, following the affiliation of the Pro-Life Society at the Students’ Union.

Our Students’ Union has a legal duty to approve a society if it is not breaking the law, as they have laid out in an extensive statement on the status of the Society.

There has been intense debate on our campus, including a recent protest.

We encourage our students to engage in lawful debate and we support peaceful and respectful protest, as well as the right to free speech and expression within the law. We affirm that any and all forms of harassment, intimidation and abuse have no place in our community.

We are also aware that there was some interference with the protest from outside of our University community, where misogynistic comments were directed at students – this is unacceptable and we support the right of our students to protest safely.  

Open dialogue

Our Students’ Union has met with the organisers of the protest to discuss addressing concerns constructively and will publish a follow-up statement that will highlight further actions they will take, based on student feedback.

Your questions, answered

Relevant legislation in this area requires Universities and Students Unions to protect and ensure lawful freedom of speech. We are hosting an online open meeting in partnership with our Students’ Union to give you the opportunity to put questions about freedom of speech on campus to the elected Students' Union Exec Officers and senior University leaders.

We are in the process of confirming a date and time, but you can register your interest and we will notify you once this is set.

For more information: