Western Australia’s five Vice Chancellors have committed to supporting institutional change in a collective response to findings by the 2021 National Student Safety Survey (NSSS), that one in six students have been sexually harassed since starting at university and one in twelve have been sexually harassed in the past 12 months.
“We, the Vice-Chancellors of Western Australia’s five universities, thank those students who bravely shared their thoughts and experiences. We are united in our ongoing commitment to make our campuses safe for students, staff and the community.
“Although we operate across separate campuses and in different contexts, we will continue to collaborate and share examples of best practice between us. As higher education institutions we have an important role to play in generating positive social change.”
The collective statement was issued on 23rd March by Professor Harlene Hayne Vice-Chancellor, Curtin University, Professor Steve Chapman Vice-Chancellor, Edith Cowan University, Professor Jane den Hollander Vice-Chancellor, Murdoch University, Professor Francis Campbell Vice-Chancellor, The University of Notre Dame, and Professor Amit Chakma Vice-Chancellor, The University of Western Australia.
The National Student Safety Survey (NSSS) ran across the Australian university sector in late 2021 and with 43,819 participants, was one of the world’s largest surveys to collect data on the scale and nature of university students’ experiences of sexual harassment and sexual assault.
The survey was conducted by the Social Research Centre (SRC) in partnership with leading violence prevention expert Associate Professor Anastasia Powell of RMIT University, with results released on Wednesday 23 March 2022.
Qualitative responses to the survey detailed the experiences of university students and the types of sexual harassment and sexual assault they had faced, such as being asked, “extremely private, personal, and uncomfortable questions about my sex life by a university bus driver when he used to drive me around the campus late at night.”
Another respondent shared their experience as an art student with access to a private studio: “One morning, I unlocked the door to my studio and there was a security guard (employed by the university) sitting at my desk masturbating. I was in shock and asked him to leave and he left the building.”
Universities Australia Chair, Professor John Dewar AO, said the survey clearly shows that sexual harassment and sexual assault continue to occur in university communities, but it is not limited to campuses.
“From this survey, we know 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.”
“The results of this significant survey are distressing, disappointing and confronting,” Professor Dewar said. “On behalf of Universities Australia and its 39 members, I am deeply sorry.
“To every single University student who has experienced sexual harassment or sexual assault, or has a friend, family member or loved one who has – I am sorry.
“I am sorry for what you endured. I am sorry for how that may have affected your relationships, your mental health, your studies and your life.
“We recognise there is more work to be done and we will determine in coming months what we should and could be doing.”
Universities Australia has made the following commitments in response to the 2021 NSSS:
- Ongoing partnership with Our Watch and to continue the Educating for Equality program in universities, with support until at least the end of this year.
- Additional training for student leaders to respond to disclosures of sexual harassment and sexual assault and to manage vicarious trauma.
- Work with the Office of the eSafety Commissioner to develop the Safer Online: Awareness to Resilience program to develop whole-of-institution approaches to preventing and responding to cyber abuse.
- The development of a violence prevention campaign that will be rolled out across university campuses in O-Week 2023.
- A review of the 2018 Universities Australia guidelines for university responses to sexual assault and sexual harassment.