The Australian Human Rights Commission is expected to release their report into sexual violence in university communities on August 1st this year.
Thirty-seven thousand students throughout Australia participated in the survey, with all 39 universities in Australia committed to release the data on sexual assaults from within their communities.
[infogram id=”sexual_assault_on_campus-7″ prefix=”WzE” format=”interactive” title=”Sexual Assault on Campus”]So far, the only data on sexual violence in university communities comes from a Fairfax Media report that showed of the 575 sexual assault complaints to Australian Universities between 2010 and 2016, 153 were reported to police and six resulted in expulsions.
In July this year, RMIT University announced a restorative justice process in response to the release of the data.
The project will try to tailor a response to the victim, depending on the form of justice they would like to receive. One form, for instance, would be for “senior representatives of an institution to acknowledge their failure to protect the victim and committing to prevent such incidents in the future,” Adjunct Professor Rob Hulls said.
The entry way into building 57 of the RMIT city campus, July 26th 2017. RMIT has committed to a restorative justice system in response to the report to be released next week. Photo: Sophie Wenderoth
“It’s been estimated that fewer than one in 100 cases of sexual assault result in a conviction,” Hulls said.
Hulls told Dr David Glanz of the University Communications unit at RMIT University that this meant 99 per cent of victims don’t see perpetrators of sexual violence held to account for their crimes.
RMIT has also recently partnered with CASA House, a department of the Royal Women’s Hospital in Melbourne. The department provides free, confidential support to adult victims of sexual assault, regardless of gender.
The partnership will enable RMIT students to see a CASA House counsellor at the RMIT city campus every Tuesday. A similar arrangement for the Bundoora campus is being explored.
The notice board near the RMIT University Student Union office, July 26th 2017. Students at RMIT will have access to new support systems after the University partnered with CASA House. Photo: Sophie Wenderoth
Fiona Ellis, Director of Student Wellbeing and Commercial Services told Glanz CASA House would also be delivering the program to culturally and linguistically diverse student groups at RMIT English Worldwide.
“CASA House is offering training for RMIT students on respectful personal relationships, consent and bystander intervention,” Ellis said.
OurWatch is a national not-for-profit which was established to drive changes in the culture, behaviours and power imbalances that lead to violence against women.
On their website, the organisation states that in Australia, one in five women have experienced sexual violence. It also shows young women aged 18-24 face significantly higher rates of physical and sexual violence than women in other age groups.
On July 21 2017, student protesters gathered outside Parliament House in Canberra in relation to sexual violence crimes in University communities. The students came from Universities throughout Australia.
