A 2021 survey conducted by Universities Australia (UA) has found that close to 50 percent of the university student population has experienced sexual harassment at least once.
In addition, one in 20 Australian university students have been sexually assaulted and one in six have been sexually harassed since starting university, while in the past 12 months, 1.1 percent have been sexually assaulted and one in 12 sexually harassed.
“It can occur in students’ own homes, in residential colleges, pubs, and clubs. These are the places where students live, work, study, travel, and socialise,” he said. “The results of this significant survey are distressing, disappointing, and confronting.”
Findings showed that women are significantly more likely to be sexually harassed or assaulted than men, but sexuality and gender diverse students are at a greater risk than all other groups.
Other student cohorts more likely to experience sexual harassment or assault include Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people, people with disabilities, and people from culturally diverse backgrounds, while the majority of perpetrators are male.
Accompanying the survey was a qualitative research section made up of three open-ended questions, which gave victims the opportunity to disclose their experiences of sexual harassment or assault in their own words, the impact it has had on their university life, and recommendations they would make for reform.
Among the questions, students were asked about the most impactful or significant incident of sexual harassment they had experienced in a university context. Eight-four percent indicated that those incidents had involved male perpetrators, 67 percent said the incident was perpetrated by students from their own university, and 50.7 percent said they knew some or all of the perpetrators.
Common locations for these incidents to occur included general campus areas, university lecture theatres and computer labs, university libraries, club and society events or spaces, and student accommodations. Postgraduate students (11.1 percent) also reported incidents of sexual harassment in the past 12 months on professional placements or work experience.
“They confirm that sexual assault and sexual harassment are primarily perpetrated by men against women. They also highlight that people of diverse sexualities and genders and people with disabilities experience it more often,“ he said. ”The impacts on victim-survivors, their education and their lives, are profound.”
Scott added that the University of Sydney has already taken strong action, namely that since 2018, all new students have been required to complete a “Consent Matters” module, and consent workshops are conducted twice a year for all student leaders and first year students living in student accommodation.
On top of that, there is a mandatory module for all executive office holders in the university’s clubs and societies about the drivers of sexual assault and harassment.
“It’s encouraging that this action has led to a shift in some areas of our results—more students are seeking support and there seems to be greater awareness about where to obtain support and how to make a report or complaint,” Scott said.
“However, many issues of great concern remain and this is where we will focus our efforts, to create a safer and more responsive and supportive environment for all our students.”
Meanwhile, Dewar said that in 2016, UA engaged the Australian Human Rights Commission to conduct the first ever national survey on the prevalence of sexual harassment and assault in university contexts.
Based on the results, universities implemented hundreds of initiatives and measures to better prevent and respond to the problem, including better reporting and evidence collection processes, consent training, respectful relationship education for students, and stronger guidelines for relationships between supervisors and students.
“We know that meaningful cultural and behavioural change does not happen overnight. Our work in conjunction with schools, workplaces, governments, and sexual violence experts is critical to achieving this in Australian society,” Dewar said.
He stressed the importance of prevention, saying that what’s key is eliminating the destructive attitudes that foster sexual assault and harassment within universities.
“As we absorb the survey results, the sector will reflect on what else we can and must do, and we will engage expert partners as well as survivor and student advocates on effective future measures.”
