Cardiff University ‘banter’ account criticised for sexual assault posts

Some students are calling for a boycott of the social media page, with other posts seen by BBC Wales describing women as “sluzzers”, and “tarts”.

Rebecca Rumsey, 23, a Cardiff University student and co-founder of the sexual misconduct campaign group Time To Act, said students had repeatedly sent the group screenshots of the posts.

“We got sent the posts hundreds of times by students,” she said. “We tried to reach out to the page — they still haven’t responded.”

Time To Act called for students to unfollow the account, stop submitting confessions and report content they believed promoted sexual violence or misogyny.

Rebecca said the backlash had resulted in the account losing about 2,000 followers.

“There’s a lot of misogynistic and rape culture posts on that page, and it’s not good enough,” she said. “It’s not banter.”

Cardiff University said it was aware of the account and the “concerning nature of the posts” but emphasised the account was “not affiliated or associated with Cardiff University, nor are we aware who is responsible for it”.

A university spokesperson said: “This is not just banter. As a university we’re committed to creating a safe, respectful, and inclusive environment where everyone has the right to feel safe and treated with dignity and respect.”

It added that it had received complaints about the account, had reported posts and the account itself, and would continue to do so.

“We followed the account so we could actively monitor and report such posts. We unfollowed the account in response to the concerns expressed by our Students’ Union and from staff, students and members of the public.”

Cardiff Uni Banter has been approached for comment.

If you have been affected by the issues raised, help is available via BBC Action Line.