2.2 Collective Agency, Feminist Coalitions and Student Resistance Movements
Applying the theoretical framework of institutional ecology and spatial justice reveals that campus gender-based violence operates not merely through isolated interpersonal encounters, but through structural vulnerabilities embedded within university environments. The night-time economy and digital platforms serve as primary arenas where gendered hostility is negotiated, reinscribed, and actively resisted by the student body (Sundaram, 2018). In these socio-spatial contexts, everyday manifestations of sexism and harassment systematically undermine student safety, demanding comprehensive pedagogical and structural interventions that challenge prevailing cultural norms rather than displacing the burden of risk management onto marginalised individuals. Concurrently, collective student agency emerges as an indispensable counterweight to institutional inertia and administrative silence. Feminist student coalitions construct vital counter-spaces of solidarity and community connection, enabling survivors and allies to contest oppressive attitudes, articulate shared grievances, and demand genuine accountability from university governance (Jackson, 2018). This activist infrastructure demonstrates that psychological wellbeing, personal security, and communal belonging are intrinsically linked to collective empowerment and democratic voice across campus life. By transforming personal trauma into collaborative resistance, student-led movements expose the limitations of purely punitive policies and advocate for transformative cultural change within educational institutions. Ultimately, dismantling systemic violence requires universities to support these feminist networks, align physical residential environments with restorative principles, and foster an institutional ethos rooted in equity, respect, and proactive structural care across all campus domains.