Ask Me First – More AUT students speak up

More AUT students are contacting us after seeing our AskMeFirst video.
“hi im a AUT current female student and i just watched the youtube clip. i agree. I’m moderate to severely autistic and already have a history of severe sexual abuse, taken advantage off. I’ve been taught a behaviour specialist that intervened in protecting me from more sexual advances that guys are not allowed to see me naked they arent allowed in bathrooms with me, and boys/guys are not allowed to take their clothes down or off around me, I’m not allowed to be left alone with males.
i feel at high risk now and i don’t always have one on one support at uni/
i get transgendered need rights but i get trigger high anxiety around biological guys and get scared that a guy will doing sexual things to me that i don’t understand.
if i speak out it wont get noticed as theres a strong LGBT etc community at AUT that have campaigned.
and its not them being transgendered that is the matter
I’m scared ill be taken advantage off
where do we start such a big issue”
Good question. But another important question is – Why didn’t / won’t AUT consult all students??
Read more: www.askmefirst.nz
Watch the YouTube clip

“I have a daughter attending AUT. I am disgusted with this decision. I want my girl to feel safe but these so called ‘intellectuals’ have put her and other female students in danger just to pander to the extremely few people who are experiencing psychological problems and need help.”
“The bathrooms in the OUSA Clubs and Societies building have been made gender-neutral. I’m not sure how long ago this happened. When I went to use the bathrooms recently, I suddenly found myself having to choose between two identical doors, both of which had a colourful picture of a unicorn. So I went to the left, to discover a bathroom set up with urinals as well as cubicles. I was simply glad that there was no one using the facilities while I was there! Behind the door was a page including the instructions, “If you’re in a public bathroom and you think a stranger’s gender doesn’t match the sign on the door, follow these steps. 1: Don’t worry about it, they know better than you.”
I felt sidelined and vulnerable. I don’t want the right to accidentally walk in on a guy peeing; I highly doubt most guys want the right to be walked in on by another gender! However, the potential is glaringly open for abusive, creepy behaviour, and I don’t want to lose the right to safe, private space.  I feel too intimidated to speak up about this publicly at Otago, because the tendency is to villainise anyone who feels uncomfortable with the queer agenda. For example, the Otago student mag, the Critic, has described Family First as the  “Notoriously homophobic, sexist and all around f***ing awful organisation.”
Thank you very much for creating a safe space for me to express these concerns.”