By Rebecca Tracey (she/her)

Content Warning: discussion of rape, sexual harassment and assault

When Amina* went to report her sexual harassment in 2020 to a university staff member, she was told she should be grateful for the attention. Her perpetrator was another university staff member who copied her phone number and sent her unwanted texts about her appearance, left gifts on her desk, and accused her of ‘playing hard to get.’ After her first experience of trying to report was shut down, she found it increasingly difficult to access support from her university.

For over six years organisations End Rape on Campus (EROC) and Fair Agenda have been advocating for better sexual violence prevention and reporting methods from universities after the Australian Human Rights Commission’s 2017 ‘Change the Course’ report was released. Now, the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) have weighed in on behalf of university faculty members with their own survey, and the results scream of a broader cultural issue around experiencing and reporting sexual violence within Australian universities.

The NTEU 2023 survey findings on sexual harassment, gender-based violence and sexism in the workplace showed that out of 2000 members surveyed, almost one in three respondents experienced sexual harassment at work: an increase of almost 53% since the last survey was conducted in 2018. 52% of victims were encouraged to drop their complaints, with a further 44% stating they faced negative consequences from their employer if they filed a report.

In a statement issued last month, NTEU National President Dr Alison Barnes said “While [many] know there are sexual harassment policies in place in their workplaces, most don’t report sexual harassment because of institutional cultures that ignore, minimise or even target victims of sexual harassment.”

The survey showed similar results to the 2021 National Student Safety Survey (NSSS) conducted by Universities Australia into the rates of sexual assault and harassment in university settings. Out of 43,819 students surveyed, one in six students had experienced sexual harassment since starting university, equating to 275 students becoming victims of sexual violence a week.

Almost 47% of students stated they did not know how to seek support from their universities when it came to reporting instances of sexual violence. End Rape on Campus founder Sharna Bremner says “Universities are just not willing to take the steps necessary for meaningful change. They’ve known that reporting portals were hidden, that students couldn't find them easily, and they clearly haven't done anything."

The timing of the NTEU survey couldn’t be more profound, with the Australian Universities Accord Panel reconvening in December to release their final report which outlines the ways in which Australian universities handle sexual violence on campus. This comes after an inquiry into the current and proposed sexual consent laws was held in July this year, which revealed Universities Australia had scrapped a $1.5m campaign delivered by the Morrison government which targeted sexual violence prevention and reporting on campus.

Vice chancellors on the board of Universities Australia decided that a targeted, broad approach would not achieve the desired action outlined in the NSSS, with rumours circulating that certain voices on the board found the content too explicit. “Our universities have a strong understanding of their own unique demographics, their campuses and their students,” Universities Australia’s Chief Executive Catriona Jackson told the inquiry. “Which is why they are best placed to continue building on the extensive work undertaken to date."

Ms Bremner argued that “While Australia's universities agreed to be more transparent about reporting of sexual violence and the action taken in response, fewer than a third were publishing that information in a way that was easy for students to access — while some were not publishing the information at all.”

Submissions were made to the Universities Accord Panel by EROC, Fair Agenda and the STOP Campaign in September. The submissions request immediate government intervention to address the ways universities are failing their students with sexual violence prevention and reporting. Victorian Independent MP Zoe Daniel, who has signed the submissions, said “The task force has to be set up to actually provoke some action. These young women, these survivors, shouldn’t have to be the ones to be brave enough to step forward.”

The NTEU is also calling for more transparent, victim-centric reporting methods for sexual harassment and assault by Universities Australia. "Sexual harassment is a clear psychosocial risk,” Dr Barnes said. “It must be treated as a work health and safety issue and employers must meet their legal obligations to ensure safety for their staff and students." A petition addressed to the Federal and State Ministers for Education demanding better work-place safety is currently active until the Universities Accord Panel reconvenes.

Fair Agenda are also petitioning Federal Education MP Jason Clare, which continues to call for independent government intervention into sexual violence and reporting in Australian universities. “We need the federal government to step in and deliver oversight and accountability when universities are putting student safety at risk,” Fair Agenda Executive Director Renee Carr said. “The data has made it very clear that universities cannot be trusted to mark their own work in this area.”

Sign the petition “for independent and expert-led oversight, through a body like a Taskforce on sexual violence in universities, to hold unis and residences accountable on this issue.” here: https://www.fairagenda.org/uni_safety

 Sign the petition to ensure “that our universities are safe places to work and study” here: https://www.nteu.au/News_Articles/National/Universities_Accord_Petition.aspx

*name changed

References

Al-Khouri, C. (2023, July 10). End Rape on Campus, Fair Agenda call for independent body to help prevent university sexual violence. ABC News. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-07-10/australian-unis-failing-to-prevent-sexual-violence/102581600

Australian Human Rights Commission. (2017). Change the course: national report on sexual assault and sexual harassment at Australian universities. https://humanrights.gov.au/our-work/sex-discrimination/publications/change-course-national-report-sexual-assault-and-sexual

End Rape on Campus. (2023). An open letter to the Albanese government. End Rape on Campus.  https://www.endrapeoncampusau.org/eroc-australia-publications-open-letter

Fair Agenda. (2023). Sign the petition: hold universities accountable for failures on sexual violence. https://www.fairagenda.org/uni_safety

The Greens. (2023, September 14). Unanimous senate report calls for independent taskforce to hold universities to account on sexual violence. The Greens. https://greens.org.au/news/media-release/unanimous-senate-report-calls-independent-taskforce-hold-universities-account

The Guardian. (2023). Media kit. The Guardian. media kit https://s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/s3-guardian-igad/files/Media-Kit-2023.pdf

Long, C. (2023, August 3). Universities accused of failing to reach benchmarks to support sexual assault victims, fuelling calls for government intervention. ABC News. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-08-03/calls-for-government-intervention-assault-on-campus/102678716

Long, C. (2023, September 14). University students detail mishandling of sexual violence complaints in submission to university Accord panel. ABC News. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-09-14/university-review-sexual-violence-complaints-students/102853080

National Student Safety Survey. (2021). 2021 results. NSSS. https://www.nsss.edu.au/results

National Tertiary Education Union. (2018).  NTEU survey on sexual harassment. NTEU. https://www.nteu.org.au/col/article/NTEU-survey-on-sexual-harassment-%28Advocate-25-03%29-21067

National Tertiary Education Union. (2023). New survey reveals shocking rise in sexual harassment at universities. NTEU. https://www.nteu.au/News_Articles/Media_Releases/Sexual_Harassment_Survey_Report.aspx

National Tertiary Education Union. (2023). Higher ed review – universities accord. NTEU.  https://www.nteu.au/News_Articles/National/Universities_Accord_Petition.aspx

Precel, N. (2023, July 9). Three-quarters of universities aren’t being transparent about sexual violence. The Sydney Morning Herals. https://www.smh.com.au/education/three-quarters-of-universities-aren-t-being-transparent-about-sexual-violence-20230706-p5dm4t.html

The STOP Campaign. (2023). Sexual violence and institutional betrayal in Australian university residential halls and student accommodation. The STOP Campaign. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/64ae77dbce2881219079ca28/t/65018c0500ed4d63234874d9/1694600209432/The+STOP+Campaign+final+%23IDeserveSafety+Submission+to+the+Accord+Panel.pdf

Ziwica, K. (2023, July 22-28). Exclusive: universities scrap consent campaign. The Saturday Paper. https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/news/education/2023/07/21/exclusive-consent-program-axed#hrd

Ziwica, K. (2023, August 1). “I’m deeply, deeply disturbed”: consent law inquiry sheds light on state of sexual violence responses. Crikey. https://www.crikey.com.au/2023/08/01/consent-law-senate-inquiry-sexual-violence-responses/