"Finally, may the dirty women be pulled down on a cannon with their c*nt!"

"Chicks, stay away!"

In 2016 in the Dutch city of Groningen, members of a student association by the name of Vindicat made a “bang list”. This list contained photos of 23 female students from the association and their full names, addresses, and telephone numbers, in addition to a rating from 1 to 5 stars indicating how good each one was in bed. After the list was released, many of them refused to pick up their phones due to the harassment they were receiving. The girls were called by both journalists and a slew of ill-intended individuals.

Vindicat has gained a reputation for being the least women-friendly student association in the Netherlands due to this incident as well as a number of other ones. However, it is definitely the first time something big hit the news nationally.

The quote above is the final sentence of the list’s introduction, translated from Dutch to English by one of NotAloneToronto’s founders who attends The University of Groningen. With the word ‘cannon’ interpreted to mean a man’s penis, the statement is both vulgar and demeaning to these women. The six senior students involved in the incident were suspended during freshers’ week. However, Groningen University doesn’t consider the incident a ground for severing its ties with the student society. It’s not just the students here that are perpetuating rape culture, but the university itself, a place that’s supposed to be setting a positive example for their students. What kind of message does that send to victims of sexual harassment and assault?