Universities Australia chair John Dewar said the sector hoped there would have been improvement in campus safety since 2017 but “sadly that does not seem to be the case”.Credit:Eamon Gallagher
Releasing the report,Universities Australia chair John Dewar apologised to victims of harassment or assault and said the findings were “distressing,disappointing and confronting”.
The sector,which has “responsibility for 40 per cent of the young adult population”,had hoped there would be a significant improvement in sexual harassment and assault rates since the Australian Human Rights Commissionreleased results of a similar survey in 2017.
“Sadly,that does not seem to be the case,” he said,describing the survey as the largest of its kind in the world.
“These behaviours and the attitudes that underpin them will take a significant length of time to turn around – they’re deeply ingrained not just in Australian universities but in the wider community.”
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Monash,Swinburne and Deakin universities reported below national-average rates of sexual harassment,at 15.3 per cent,12.9 per cent and 12.1 per cent respectively. Their sexual assault statistics were also below the national average,at 5.1 per cent,3.3 per cent and 4.5 per cent respectively.
The report defines sexual assault as “any unwanted sexual acts or sexual conduct ... where a person was either forced,pressured,threatened,tricked or no effort was made to check whether there was agreement to the act”.
Qualitative research described by Professor Dewar as “harrowing” included student testimonies of rape,stalking,groping and harassment online,including sending pornographic material and sexual comments.
La Trobe University vice-chancellor Jessica Vanderlelie said universities have more to do to create and support safe environments.
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Since the murder of student Aya Maasarwe near the campus in January 2019,an event which “rocked our whole institution”,the university had introduced many programs including mandatory consent training,transport safety programs and a women’s safe place.
“We had 18.9 per cent of students who experienced sexual harassment since they began university with us:that’s far too high,” Professor Vanderlelie said. “One case of sexual harassment is one too many and that’s a statistic we’re taking very seriously.”
Student organisations said sexual assault or harassment was often not reported to universities because of a lack of trust that the institutions would listen or act,and because the reporting processes were extremely long and often resulted in no perceived justice for survivors. Some survivors did not know what support was available.
The founder and director of End Rape on Campus Australia,Sharna Bremner,said universities had failed to improve safety for students in the five years since the Human Rights Commission’s report.
End Rape on Campus founder and director Sharna Bremner gave universities an “F” grade for the improvements made to safety on campus since the Human Rights Commission investigated it in 2016.Credit:David Mariuz
“We’re seeing students still experiencing increasingly high rates,especially among certain populations,of sexual assault and harassment,” she said.
Ms Bremner said sexual harassment and assault were not taken as seriously as other student behaviour.
“There are certain things universities will take seriously:if you plagiarise you will probably be suspended,if you sexually assault a peer you will probably be just fine,” she said.
Students still did not trust that if they reported incidents of sexual harassment or assault,anything would be done,she said.
If you or anyone you know needs support,contact the National Sexual Assault,Domestic and Family Violence Counselling Service on1800RESPECT (1800 737 732),Lifeline 131 114,orBeyond Blue 1300 224 636.
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* Name has been changed to protect the student’s privacy