Freedom Student Groups
A Freedom Student Group turns concern about forced marriage, FGM and Dishonour Abuse into informed campus action. It can educate, campaign, fundraise and build links to better support without becoming a student-run casework service.
Build the group properly
- Contact Freedom and agree how the group will use the Freedom name and current resources.
- Follow your institution or students’ union rules for societies, events and finance.
- Choose a small committee and one named contact for Freedom.
- Agree how social media, data, speakers and money will be handled.
- Complete the relevant Freedom induction before representing the charity publicly.
- Plan one term at a time.
Know. Notice. Respond. Change.
Know — use current Freedom facts and separate evidence, law, guidance and opinion.
Notice — recognise warning signs, coercion, unsafe assumptions and gaps in response.
Respond — listen, stay within role and use the agreed support route; never investigate or contact family members yourself.
Change — turn learning into safer practice, better information, campaigning or partnerships.
Your first term
A busy calendar can hide weak impact. Three deliberate actions are enough: run one strong learning event; choose one current Freedom campaign or campus improvement; and build one useful relationship with a students’ union, safeguarding or wellbeing team, academic department or relevant society.
Campaign test: one issue. One audience. One clear ask. If you cannot name all three in one sentence, the campaign is not ready.
Safeguarding boundary
Do not investigate, contact family members or alleged perpetrators, mediate, promise absolute confidentiality or independently make a safety plan for somebody else. If somebody asks for help, listen without interrogating and use the safeguarding or support route you have been given. If someone is in immediate danger, call 999.
Leave a group, not a gap
Bring newer students into planning, keep a one-page term record, hand over passwords and permissions properly, and record what worked, what failed and what Freedom should learn.