Senate sexual assault inquiry slams university handling of complaints

Australian universities have been too slow to respond to a scourge of sexual assault cases in their communities and can’t be trusted to take the issue seriously, senators from all sides of politics said as they called for institutions to be monitored by an independent taskforce.

Coalition senator Paul Scarr, Labor senator Nita Green and Greens senator Larissa Waters have combined to write a searing Senate report that says universities are inconsistent and opaque in their handling of sexual assault complaints, retraumatising young women who are sometimes then unable to continue their education.

The Senate report said universities could not be trusted to tackle the scourge of sexual assault on campus.Credit: Dominic Lorrimer

Their unanimous report, published on Thursday and prompted by years of debate about consent laws and education, said sexual violence was a national crisis that disproportionately affected women and young people, led to “unacceptable human tragedy” and required action across the whole of society.

But the senators reserved their harshest criticisms for the university sector, where one in six students was sexually harassed and one in 20 were sexually assaulted since beginning their studies, according to the latest national survey.

“The committee cannot over-emphasise how troubled it is by these outcomes, nor over-state how disappointed it is in the university sector’s overall response ... Their responses might be generously described as inadequate but are, in some cases, outright damaging and deeply troubling,” the report said, arguing the sector had a moral duty to step up its efforts.

The senators made 17 unanimous recommendations to improve sexual consent laws and education.

Coalition senator Paul Scarr: “We heard the most disturbing evidence.”Credit: Oscar Colman

They said any attempt to harmonise the country’s consent laws – which differ between states and territories – should include an affirmative consent standard, which requires people to communicate consent during sexual activity and take steps to ensure the other person is also consenting.

There should be regular surveys of students and young people to keep track of how prevalent sexual violence is in Australia, while state and territory governments should consider restorative justice pilot programs and specialist sexual violence courts to offer options outside the adversarial criminal justice system.

The senators called on the Attorney-General’s Department to develop a “national sexual violence bench book” to address rape myths and help legal officers respond to sexual violence in a trauma-informed way.

They also said education ministers should work to train the teaching workforce so that respectful relationships education is both effective and consistent.

But Scarr said the senators were particularly passionate about establishing an independent taskforce “with strong powers” to oversee how universities prevent and respond to sexual violence in their communities, including their complaints processes.

“We heard the most disturbing evidence in relation to the failure of our university sector to appropriately respond to the issue of sexual violence on university campuses around this nation,” he told the Senate on Thursday.

Students and advocates said they were often traumatised when making a complaint through universities – a situation Scarr described as a “searing indictment” of Australia’s university sector and its regulator.

“In the strongest terms, this committee says that is a shameful state of affairs. It is unacceptable,” Scarr said.

“The committee lacks confidence that the university sector as a whole will respond appropriately to the crisis without strong intervention. This is a regrettable conclusion that the committee does not come to lightly.

“The time for working groups has passed ... An independent taskforce with effective powers should be immediately established to ensure accountability in the university sector.”

Waters said the government should take note, given the senators had combined to make strong recommendations on a crucial issue. “It feels like we have a moment here,” she said.

”We need respectful relationships education and a national campaign that starts in schools, [and] goes right through to universities ... Thousands of students, mostly young women but also young men, are facing utterly preventable sexual assault and rape on campus.

“Our universities should be places of learning, not rape factories.”

Education Minister Jason Clare said it was clear not enough had been done to address sexual assault and harassment in universities.

“That’s why a working group has been established to provide advice on concrete actions that are aimed squarely at strengthening university governance and keeping students safe,” he said.

Universities Australia chief executive Catriona Jackson said she welcomed the report as a step towards addressing “the societal issue of sexual harm”.

“Sexual harm is prevalent everywhere, from university campuses to workplaces, pubs, clubs, homes and on public transport. We all have a responsibility to address it, and universities don’t shy away from this,” she said.

“Our members are committed to continuing to run tailored and individual campus-based activities, building on the hundreds of initiatives already implemented to continue tackling this issue head on.”

Support is available from the National Sexual Assault, Domestic Family Violence Counselling Service at 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732) or the Men’s Referral Service on 1300 766 491.

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