Study Finds 51 Per Cent of Uni Students Were Sexually Harassed Last Year

Trigger Warning: This article discusses sexual assault and rape.

A study on the prevalence of sexual violence on university students, conducted by the Human Rights Commission (HRC), was released this morning and the results are damning.

The study, Change the Course, was undertaken by the HRC last year in order to better understand the extent of the prevalence of sexual assault and harassment incidence within the 39 universities in Australia.

It found that 51 per cent of the more than 30,000 students who were involved in the study had been sexually harassed on at least one occasion in 2016, with 6.9 per cent experiencing sexual assault on at least one occasion in either 2015 or 2016.

Women were three times as likely to be sexually assaulted in a university setting during 2015 and 2016, and both women and men were most likely to be sexually harassed or assaulted by a man.

The study also found that trans and gender diverse individuals had higher rates of sexual violence committed against them compared against cisgender students. Those who identified as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander and those who have disabilities also experienced higher rates compared to their peers.

These incidences most often occurred at on-campus and residential social events (21 per cent). A further 15 per cent of sexual assault incidences took place on public transport to-and-from university.

Reporting of these crimes to the university was extremely low. Ninety-four per cent of those who were sexually harassed (and 87 per cent of those who were sexually assaulted) did not make a formal complaint.

Australian Sex Discrimination Commissioner, Kate Jenkins, explained that this was due to students not knowing who or where to go with their complaint.

Monash University's Vice-Chancellor, Professor Margaret Gardner, announced that all 39 universities were committing to a ten-point action plan that would see the implementation of a 24/7 specialist support line for victims and survivors of sexual violence, as well as various targeted training programs for those with leadership roles.

"We are committed to taking action to ensure we can better prevent sexual assault and sexual harassment on our campuses and we can provide better support to students who may have been victims of sexual assault and sexual harassment," Professor Gardner announced at the study's launch.

You can watch the launch below.