Victoria University vows to prevent violence following Australian Human Rights Commission’s sexual harassment findings
VICTORIA University are making student safety a top priority following the results of a survey on sexual harassment.
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VICTORIA University is making student safety a top priority following the results of the national university survey on sexual harassment a year ago.
August 1 marked the anniversary of the Australian Human Rights Commission’s survey results, which found one in five students had experienced sexual harassment in a university setting.
The commission surveyed 30,930 students at 39 Australian universities.
Results showed 26 per cent of respondents at Victoria University claimed they were sexually harassed at university in 2016, while 47 per cent said they were sexually harassed at least once in 2016.
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University vice-chancellor Professor Peter Dawkins said since the findings, the university had implemented all recommendations given by the commission.
“Preventing sexual assault and sexual harassment is a significant challenge for us all, but collectively we will work to make change,” he said.
The university has partnered with AMES Australia to develop the Preventing Violence Against Women Leadership Program.
Student Achol Arow said the program helped her overcome her own encounter with violence.
“I experienced it first hand — physically, emotionally and psychologically and I knew all the signs because I had learnt about it,” she said.
“It’s important to recognise those red flags, I now have the power to share my story and encourage others to speak out.”
Other actions designed to enhance student safety included commissioning the Western Region Centre Against Sexual Assault to provide extensive first responder training to staff and the development of e-learning modules for students.
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