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Student recognised for contribution to equality and diversity

Press release issued: 23 June 2016

The Law School wishes to congratulate undergraduate Chloe Maughan for being shortlisted for a Student Union (SU) award for Equality and Diversity. The nomination is in recognition of her voluntary work promoting equality and diversity through accessible, exciting and engaging campaigns or events.

Throughout the 2015/16 academic year Chloe was the Women's Officer at Bristol SU.  Her nomination for the Equality and Diversity award recognised her involvement in a number of projects, including her role on the city wide Joint Forum Against Sexual Violence and Harassment; hosting a women's only self-defence seminar; launching an alternative Sex Education campaign, and; developing Reclaim the Night 2015 which gathered over 450 participants across the city. We caught up with Chloe to find out more.

When did you first become interested in women's rights? 

My interest was to a great extent influenced by the creation of the Everyday Sexism Project and the writings of Laura Bates (it's creator) which chimed with a lot of my own personal experiences. My interest grew over the course of my undergraduate studies, as it became clear how women's rights issues permeate the whole spectrum of law, from criminal law, to human rights cases and property law. 

Has your role as Women's Officer for the SU shaped your plans for the future? 

My role has shaped my future plans to a huge degree. I've been really lucky to have the opportunity to work with the Joint Forum Against Sexual Violence & Harassment within my role. This is a city wide project that brings together local universities, charities, the police and the council to look into providing tangible solutions to gender based violence. It's given me a great deal of exposure to charities who work with survivors of sexual violence, and has enabled me to interrogate more fully the way that laws on sexual offences actually work in practice, and how they affect victims. I'm in the process of applying to do some voluntary work with some of these organisations, in the hope of working to support survivors. I hope to later bring this knowledge back to the law, to look at how our legislative order can better capture victim experiences and accommodate recovery.

Did your interest in women's right influence your choice of university?

When I was applying to study Law I was particularly interested in pursuing a career in Human Rights, and Bristol therefore felt like a really good match for me as the home to the Human Rights Implementation Centre, which I've been fortunate enough to carry out research with over the course of my undergrad. With regard to my masters I've chosen Bristol again, this time influenced by the brilliant academics who specialise in gender here, an area I hope to carry out my dissertation in.  I've accepted an offer to return to Bristol to undertake a masters in Socio-Legal Studies. I'll be balancing this with working in the Student's Union.

Where do you hope to be in 10 years time?

I'm really keen on working in Legal Research, so hopefully finishing up a PhD somewhere or working with the Law Commission. And hopefully parenting a golden-retriever somewhere nice.  

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