Joining the network forms a part of the University's ongoing work to support our students and tackle gender-based violence on campus.
Launched in autumn 2025, the EmilyTest Network provides a way for universities and colleges across the UK and Ireland to access resources, share learning and connect with other professionals working to improve gender-based violence prevention, intervention and support.
EmilyTest is a charity that was set up in memory of Emily Drouet, an 18-year-old student who was subjected to a sustained campaign of violence and abuse from a fellow student and later took her own life. The purpose of the charity is to tackle gender-based violence in education.
We are pleased to be part of the EmilyTest Network – tackling gender-based violence in Higher Education requires us all to work together. Everyone in our community deserves to feel safe – gender-based violence and abuse have no place at the University of Edinburgh.
Led by our Equally Safe team, we are committed to sector best practice and ensuring that our staff have access to training and resources which will enable them to support any student experiencing gender-based abuse.
Lucy Evans
Associate Principal and Deputy Secretary, Students
We greatly value our working relationship with the University of Edinburgh, and we are pleased to formalise this by welcoming them to the EmilyTest Network. The Network brings universities and colleges from across Scotland and beyond together to share learning and good practice in gender-based violence prevention, intervention and support, while addressing shared challenges collaboratively. All with the focus of ensuring campuses are as safe as possible for students and staff to live, work and study in.
We believe the University of Edinburgh will be a valuable contributor to this work, and their involvement represents a positive step in laying strong foundations for future considerations about the EmilyTest GBV Charter and award.
Fiona Drouet MBE
Founder & CEO, EmilyTest
The Students’ Association welcomes the University’s decision to join the EmilyTest Network and we are excited to see where this next step takes our collaborative work. This is an area of advocacy that we have been working on together with students, particularly the Feminist Society, Girl*Up Edinburgh, and Sex? On Campus!, for several years.
Joining the EmilyTest Network is a fantastic example of an initiative that continues to open doors for us as students alongside the wonderful and dedicated staff of the Equally Safe Team and Wellbeing Service to scale up our advocacy, to engage more community members, and importantly to grow our networks both within our community and across other universities. We look forward to learning with the EmilyTest Network, to cross-collaborating on solutions, and to continue working for and with students.
Ash Scholz
Edinburgh University Students’ Association President
Support for students at the University of Edinburgh
Equally Safe Team
Gender-based violence can affect anyone. It can happen in relationships, at home, in public or online. The University’s Equally Safe Team is a dedicated support service for students affected by gender-based abuse and violence.
Students can contact the Equally Safe Team by using the Report + Support online platform.
Students and staff can use the platform to report any form of bullying, harassment, discrimination or gender-based violence. There is an option to report anonymously or with contact details to get support.
All students have access to support from the Students' Association's Advice Place – a professional, independent and confidential advisory service. They can offer information on a wide range of issues, including gender-based violence.
