Media Release: CAPA welcomes Universities Australia’s ‘Respect. Now. Always.’ safety campaign
16 February 2016– The Council of Australian Postgraduate Associations (CAPA) welcomes the launch of the Universities Australia ‘Respect. Now. Always.’ campaign. The campaign aims to prevent sexual harassment and assault on university campuses by raising awareness of the issue and by empowering staff and students to seek support as needed.
CAPA calls on all universities to commit to the ‘Respect. Now. Always.’ campaign objective. As a first step, this means that all institutions’ sexual harassment resolution procedures need to be reviewed by an independent external authority.
The lack of trust in reporting and resolution procedures make survivors much less likely to report crimes of this nature. Officially reported incidents are estimated to be merely a fraction of incidents occurring[1]. CAPA National President Jim Smith said it was important that Universities Australia is showing leadership regarding this issue.
“As we know, women are more likely to be survivors of sexual assault and harassment, though this is not exclusively a women’s issue. Too often, incidents that are reported are not adequately dealt with by universities. There is insufficient support, poor institutional mechanisms and a lack of willingness to adequately address these issues. We need a well-resourced, unified approach to ensure that there is support on offer and that these behaviours are deemed completely unacceptable on campuses and in our communities,” he said.
Almost three quarters of women responding to the National Union of Students’ 2015 survey said they had experienced some form of sexual harassment or unwelcome sexual behaviour during their time at university[2]. Given the findings from this survey, CAPA welcomes the commitment from Universities Australia to run a national student survey regarding sexual assault and harassment in order to further understand student experiences[3].
“This initiative provides an unprecedented opportunity for universities to take a leadership role in addressing what is a pervasive social problem. CAPA welcomes the commitment of Universities Australia to gathering further information on student experiences of sexual assault and harassment. We look forward to participating in this much-needed conversation about the safety of students in Australian universities. We further welcome and support substantive action to address this issue,” said Vice President (Chair of Equity), Alyssa Shaw.
Sexual assault and harassment policies combined with bureaucratic processes at universities are severely inadequate, as documented by the University of Sydney student newspaper, Honi Soit[4]. Their piece illuminated the failure of the University’s harassment complaints resolution procedure to ensure appropriate support, protection and justice, as illustrated by the stories of several women who are survivors of sexual assault and harassment.
Examining policies and data regarding sexual assault and harassment within Australian universities reveals that many universities have similar inadequacies, including poorly articulated enforceable outcomes regarding the resolution of sexual harassment complaints. The general lack of information, and conversation, regarding student safety shows a clear need for transparency and action in order to address this issue.
“CAPA looks forward to working with Universities Australia, the NUS, our members and key stakeholders around the country to address this issue,” concluded Jo Rukensas, CAPA Women’s Officer.
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