More than half of students in Australian universities sexually harassed: Study

SYDNEY: More than half of university students in Australia were sexually harassed last year and 7 per cent sexually assaulted on at least one occasion, a "disturbing" new national study revealed yesterday.

The findings came in an Australian Human Rights Commission report, conducted on behalf of the country's 39 universities that questioned more than 30,000 students, after years of activism by women's groups to discover the extent of the problem.

Women were three times as likely as men to be sexually assaulted and almost twice as likely to be sexually harassed, either on campus, travelling to and from the university or at off-campus events endorsed by the institution.

"The unavoidable conclusion of the data... is that incidents of sexual assault and sexual harassment are occurring at unacceptable rates at Australian universities," said Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins.

DISTURBING

"While anybody can experience sexual assault or sexual harassment, it is clear from the data that women at university experience these behaviours at disproportionately higher rates than men.

"This adds weight to the body of evidence that highlights disturbing rates of sexual violence against women in Australia."

Singapore

Probation for woman who falsely reported rape

Dec 13, 2023

Related Stories

Man who sexually abused teen girl he wanted to adopt had no criminal record: MSF

Man who sexually assaulted woman he met on WeChat told her he had high sex drive

18 years’ jail for man who raped stepdaughter while his wife was in prison

The report said almost a third of the harassment occurred on university grounds or in teaching spaces, while one in five of the assaults happened at a university or residence social event.

Australian universities, which have more than one million students enrolled, are hugely popular with international students, particularly from China and India.

Many of those affected - including international students - did not formally report the incident, with the vast majority saying their university did not do enough to provide clear direction on what to do and where to seek support.

The report made nine recommendations, including the need to change attitudes and behaviour and to ensure an independent and systemic review of how universities respond. - AFP