By Annie McNamee, Co-Editor-in-Chief and Livy Naylor, Epigram Managing Director
TW: Mentions of rape and sexual violence.
From #MeToo in 2017, to the trial of Gisele Pelicot’s mass rape last summer, survivors of sexual abuse are finally being heard. Still, there is more to do. And now a new organisation - enough – says they want to help survivors win that fight; but their introduction to campus has come with confusion and controversy.
You will have seen them making a bright orange splash on grey January campus with their paddling pool of ‘self-testing kits’, and they might have even offered you a bit of chocolate.
This is enough, who come with a simple mission: end rape.
Who are enough?
According to their website, enough’s primary goal is to ‘support survivors and deter perpetrators’, of sexual violence through providing an ‘easy way to report’. Enough piloted in October 2024 in Bristol, with an initial focus of supporting the University community in curbing sexual violence. To learn more, Epigram sat down with Katie White, who co-founded enough alongside entrepreneur Tom Allchurch.
Bright, welcoming, and clearly passionate about the topic, Katie explained to us that: ‘[enough is] a way of validating [survivors]. You are taking a simple step, it’s intentional,’ adding,‘at the moment people just sit and spiral in shame’.
The stats back her up: according to a 2021 report from the Ministry of Justice, there is a 1.6% conviction rate from rape cases in the UK, and that’s of the only 20% of survivors who actually report their assault to the police.
'If [students] want it to be, this could be the start of the end of sexual violence, but it has to involve everyone' – Katie White, co-founder
‘If [students] want it to be, this could be the start of the end of sexual violence, but it has to involve everyone,’ Katie continued. She envisages a future where ‘the default is to be on the side of the survivor’, and she sees enough as having a key part to play in shifting the culture. She emphasises that the organisation is chiefly interested in sparking social change, whilst simultaneously offering a way to address what they view as the substantial failings of the current justice system.
So how are they making this change happen? Twofold: by providing self-help recovery and ally support tools on their website, and disseminating self-testing kits, which supposedly offer a simple, discreet way for survivors to collect DNA evidence of their assault from their body in its immediate aftermath. These can currently be bought on the company’s website for £20, accessed for free at ‘safe spaces’ across Bristol.
Self-Swab Kits: Should you use one?
From discussions with White it is clear that she has positive intentions, but some government backed healthcare and legal experts have voiced doubts that the self-swab kits are the best way to support survivors.
In September of last year, the Faculty of Forensic & Legal Medicine, a charity made up of doctors and forensic experts, released a statement declaring that, based on their research, they ‘do not advocate the use of ‘self-swabbing’ kits.’
They state that the kits ‘[do] not necessarily provide reliable independent evidence, may not enable survivors to choose whether to report to the police later and therefore does not prevent perpetrators from acting against others.’
'It is recommended that you do not take a swab yourself' – the NHS, the Bridge, and more.
A joint statement, published on December 22 2024, cosigned by expert bodies including, amongst others, the NHS, Avon & Somerset police and crime commissioner, and the Bridge, Bristol’s sexual assault referral centre (SARC), corroborated this view, saying: ‘It is recommended that you do not take a swab yourself.’
The Somerset and Avon police department echoed this position.
‘We understand that victim-survivors of sexual offences may wish to provide samples in surroundings that are familiar to them, but we remain concerned that self-swabbing kits may introduce evidential challenges,’ Detective Chief Inspector Rich Marsh told Epigram.
He added: ‘Without following agreed procedures, the value of capturing any DNA sample may be compromised… We know that there is still a long way to go to improve confidence in victim-survivors reporting to the police… Our specialist sexual offences investigation team, Operation Bluestone, launched in 2021 to transform the way we investigate these extremely serious crimes.’
'We definitely weren’t – and I don’t know if current ambassadors are – fully informed on all the legal implications of [the kits].' – Anonymous ex-ambassador for enough
Some students have also voiced to Epigram that they didn’t realise the kits may not be legally viable, with one saying that she found this problematic and ‘misleading vulnerable people about the efficacy of the evidence the test can give’.
She’s not the only one who feels misled by the group – an ex-student ambassador for enough reached out to Epigram and said that she, along with others, ‘left after the NHS alert’ adding that, in her experience, ‘we definitely weren’t – and I don’t know if current ambassadors are – fully informed on all the legal implications of [the kits].’ She added that she did like the concept, but that she believed it was ‘incredibly poorly executed’.
When we reached out to enough for comment on these students' comments, they said: ‘We encourage anyone who is considering reporting officially to do that first.
‘Enough is an alternative to inaction, not to Criminal Justice. Self-collected evidence will of course be scrutinised in court, more so than if collected by the police. But given that only 6% of survivors report soon enough to have a forensic examination, Enough can provide frozen DNA and a time-stamped testimony that can only be of support to a case. Survivors rarely even see the results of their examination if they report to the police, Enough provides confirmation in 48h’.
The Crown Prosecution Service guidance states that, ‘the admissibility of evidence (whether or not it complies with the FSR Code) is a matter for the courts to determine on a case-by-case basis’. As such, Katie White also told us that it is her belief that forensic evidence collected by the enough self-testing kits, like all forensic evidence, may or may not be valid as evidence in court. ‘They [those against the kits] can’t say for certain that it won’t be admissible, because there’s no precedent,’ she argues.
'Enough is an alternative to inaction, not Criminal Justice' – Katie White
In short, enough view their tests as a ‘symbol of a world without sexual violence’, rather than a surefire route to conviction.
Why are enough on campus?
Although enough have become a definite presence at the University of Bristol, the University of the West of England (UWE) Students’ Union has declined to let enough representatives onto their campus, citing concerns with the self-testing kits. In December 2024 this triggered White to launch a petition which asserted: ‘Students want Enough at UWE’. That petition currently sits at 445 signatures, but the organisation is yet to be allowed into UWE’s grounds.
Epigram asked University of Bristol students if they thought the university or SU were affiliated with the organisation and 17% responded ‘Yes’. Izzy, a master’s student, said ‘It’s not clear… I kind of assumed that anything that’s on campus has at least been passed by the SU to be there’.
17% of students thought that enough are affiliated with the university or SU.
This is not the case; neither the SU or University are associated with the organisation. When approached for comment, the SU said:
‘We are not currently promoting or endorsing the Private limited Company known as Enough due to concerns about self-swab tests which have been raised by the NHS, police, and local support services.
‘The University of Bristol have a team of male and female Sexual Violence Liaison Officers (SVLOs) who have had specialist training… We recognise the critical importance of choice to all survivors, and we will continue to be open to opportunities to partner with organisations that are seeking to reduce sexual violence. We're currently working with partners across the city on a campaign to raise awareness of the critical work of SARCs.’
The University has also said: ‘There is no relationship or affiliation between the University and [enough].
‘We care deeply about all our students and are committed to providing an environment where everyone feels safe and respected. We do not tolerate sexual violence or misconduct, and we work closely with a range of local partners including the police, local authority and voluntary sector agencies to inform our approach on this.’
What do students think?
Despite the fact that the electric-orange hoodies are a frequent sight on Woodland Road, much of the controversy is unknown to students.
When asked on an Epigram story poll 84% of respondents answered they had heard of enough, of which 49% trust them as an organisation. A further 19% reported ‘Yes, but I have doubts’ and 20% were ‘Unsure’, when asked if they like/trust them.
To get a more nuanced understanding of how students feel about enough, Epigram spoke to them across campus.
'Very intense and insensitive given the subject matter’ – Millie, fourth year student at the University of Bristol
Though everyone agreed with enough’s main objectives, multiple people raised concerns about some of their methods, which they viewed as tactless. One person pointed out: ‘victims of sexual assault don’t want to be bombarded and reminded of it by random people’.
This sentiment was echoed by several students that we spoke to. Katy, an undergraduate at Bristol, specified that she found the ‘together we can end rape’ posters, which have been put inside toilets, ‘inappropriate.’
Millie, a fourth year student, also said she felt ‘shocked and upset’ by the way an ambassador approached her on the way to an exam, which she described as ‘very intense and insensitive given the subject matter’.
Not everyone may be a fan of how they go about achieving it, but if enough’s goal is to get people talking, it seems like they’ve been successful. Postgraduate Izzy told Epigram that ‘it has started a good conversation around uni… I have talked about [sexual violence] with all of my friends’.
Everyone is on the same side; just not on the same page. Across campus and beyond, we all want to improve the lives of survivors and live in a world without sexual violence – there’s just some disagreement about how we get there.
Featured Image: Katie White / 'Enough' Co-founder
Resources for those affected by sexual assault
At Epigram we stand with survivors and everyone affected by sexual violence. Being able to access support is vital, but it can feel daunting if you are already struggling and have no idea where to go to get the help you need. Here’s a list of resources available to anyone who has been affected by sexual violence.
Within the University
The University of Bristol offers various avenues of support for survivors. A spokesperson from the university told Epigram:
‘Our specialist Sexual Violence Support Service provides one-to-one support to help students make the right choices for them following an incident of sexual violence. They will be led by the student and will listen and discuss all available options such as advising on possible reporting options, and further specialist counselling.
‘We strongly urge anyone who has been the victim of rape or sexual assault, to seek professional support, especially if this happened in the last eight days.’
‘Students can choose to report to the police or the university directly via established channels. We take reported cases very seriously, investigate where appropriate and take immediate steps to protect students. Information on how to access support or make a report is available on the University website.’
You can find the university's resources, as well as make a report if you have been assaulted, here.
In the Wider Community
The best place to go if you need support related to sexual abuse is your local SARC, which, in Bristol, is the Bridge.
They provide specialist care to everyone including men, women, LGBT+ people, under 18s, and anyone else who needs it. They can offer emotional, medical, or practical support, including counselling or professionally done forensic medical examinations. The Bridge is run by the NHS, so you will not need to pay for your care.
They can also provide emergency contraception, or help you anonymously report to the police.
You can discover more about exactly what is available at the Bridge on their website here.
If you want to help the Bridge continue their vital work, you can donate to them here.
