Imperial College Union and Imperial College Women’s Rugby Club would like to make clear their disappointment at the sexist and juvenile online response to Imperial College London’s review of institutional culture.

Imperial College Women’s Rugby and Imperial College Union jointly commend the College for commissioning this review and accepting the reality of the difficult and complex issues it identifies, including the presence of misogyny and a community that can fail to support its members in times of pressure and difficulty. We welcome College’s commitment to tackling these problems for the benefit of all staff and students.

However, the response online to the report has further demonstrated the sexist and derogatory attitudes that women face when in the public eye. 

The review of institutional culture was commissioned after misogynistic attitudes demonstrated towards Women’s Rugby. However, media coverage of the report has focused on small features of the initial inquiry, leading to reactions to it on social media being characterised by yet more examples of sexism, trolling and bullying.

It is extremely saddening to see such vile attitudes being displayed by cowardly online commenters – and our disappointment is made worse by this sexism being once again directed at the members of Imperial College Women’s Rugby.

Together, ICUWRFC and Imperial College Union will endeavour to work closely with College to uproot and eradicate sexism and bias on campus and in the lives of our members and alumni community.

We will not let online bullying negatively affect our lives; instead we will work to tackle sexism and misogyny wherever we find it, for the benefit of all future Imperial students, and to ensure all women in STEM and in sport are free from abuse.

Carolanne Vouriot
ICUWRFC Club Chair

Nas Andriopoulos
ICU President