'Rate Your Shag' pages removed by Facebook after uproar

‘Rate Your Shag’ university pages that saw students rate their sexual partners with marks out of ten have been removed after outrage from students and campaigners.

The ‘Rate Your Shag’ pages had been set up for universities including Southampton, Newcastle, Durham, Nottingham Trent, York, East Anglia and Loughborough at the beginning of this week.

One page encouraged students to “name them, shame them and if you must, praise them.”

Whilst many of the comments posted named the person being ‘rated’ in full, others went as far as linking out to their personal Facebook pages.

The deliberate naming is something that could have left Facebook open to legal action, according privacy lawyer Isabel Martorell, who spoke to the Independent.

Facebook responded to enquiries by saying that the pages were in breach of their guidelines, and as of this morning the majority seemed to have disappeared.

It comes after a call from NUS President Liam Burns, who said: “Imagine that was your family member, partner or friend. It’s not funny. It’s tantamount to bullying.”

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At Southampton University students were instrumental in the closure of the page.

David Gilani, VP Communications, told TNS: "For us the primary concern was student welfare, as the page was already becoming a platform for essentially bullying our students. There's also reputation to consider. Young people might be put off from coming to university because of the culture these groups can breed."

"I'm proud to say that the action began when a single student spoke up about her distain for the page, which prompted dozens to follow her. This was developed by student media who furthered the debate and brought the issue to thousands of our students."

Student Sam Everard, writing in the Wessex Scene, compared the page to ‘confessions’ and ‘spotted’ pages, but said that “they were at least harmless, and good for mildly amusing time wasting.

“This latest incarnation, however, has firmly crossed the boundary between humour and tastelessness.”

On the Southampton page, Lauren Chloe Fyfe wrote: “This page is disgusting, this kind of thing is never okay.”

At Loughborough, students were warned that they could be removed from their courses if found to have posted on the page.

In response to York’s page, student Rory Foster created an alternative ‘Rate Your Shag’ group – where students could rate their innuendo-fuelled experiences with carpets.

Second year Kristen Roberts called the page “a hilarious retaliation to such a ridiculous group.”

'Rate Your Shag' pages removed by Facebook after uproar

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