University of Tasmania response to Australian Human Rights Commission’s sexual assault and harassmentreport released

REVEALED: UTAS independent review’s 21 recommendations to stop sexual assault and harassment on campus.

THE University of Tasmania has released its independent review into campus sexual assault and harassment, but victims were not consulted as part of the process, the report says.

In 2017, the Australian Human Rights Commission’s landmark Change the Course report revealed 21 per cent of students across Australia were sexually harassed in a university setting in 2016 and 51 per cent of students experienced harassment generally.

It revealed nine UTAS students had been sexually assaulted on campus in the previous two years while 54 per cent had been harassed.

In response to a recommendation from the report, UTAS commissioned an independent review of sexual assault and sexual harassment within its student accommodation.

The report was completed in December last year, but was released to students on Monday.

The report focused on the factors that influence sexual assault and harassment in the student residences in Hobart, Launceston and the Cradle Coast, which are home to more than 2000 students.

Interviews were conducted with the university executive and focus groups, but not survivors of sexual assault.

The report made 21 recommendations including developing induction materials and information sessions to inform international residents about sexual assault and harassment; addressing safety concerns by ensuring physically secure buildings and safe transport options; ensuring residents’ calls to security attract a timely response and increasing the number of available student counsellors.

The report said during consultation it was found there may be a greater need to balance international and domestic students and male and female students.

“Student leaders commented on the existence of ‘male dominated’ floors or corridors in some student residences. They perceived this as a potential negative influence on culture, and on some residents’ perception of their personal safety,” the report stated.

In a statement, the university said all but one of the recommendations from the Change the Court report had been implemented.

“This work remains a focus and we will continually strive to improve how our university prevents and responds to incidents of sexual assault and sexual harassment,” the statement said.

In 2017, a group of students called on the university to banish a sex offender from campus.

Nicolaas Ockert Bester was jailed in 2011 for sexually abusing a student while teaching at Collegiate and again in 2016 for bragging about the crime on Facebook.

He was a UTAS PhD student.

An online petition which attracted more than 3500 signatures was handed to UTAS management, but the university said at the time it believed in “an agenda of participation and the power of education to transform people’s lives”.

It was alleged that Mr Bester was living in student accommodation when he offended a second time and two complaints were made about his behaviour in the gym at the Sandy Bay campus.