A national survey released on August 10 has revealed Australian universities have a serious problem with sexual assault and sexual harassment of their students.

The Australian Human Rights Commission’s National Report on Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment at Australian Universities was conducted across 39 universities in Australia over the second half of 2016. The survey revealed that at least half of the 30,000 submissions from students indicated they were a victim of sexual harassment or sexual assault, with few incidents being reported or addressed by their academic institution.

About 51 per cent of all university students were sexually harassed on at least one occasion in 2016. Women were two-to-three times as likely as men to have been sexually assaulted or sexually harassed; perpetrators were also overwhelmingly male, known by the victim and most likely to be a fellow student. Vulnerable groups such as LGBT, those with a disability or Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander were also more likely to have been victims.

The study also found that less than 6 per cent of victims of sexual harassment, and 13 per cent of victims of sexual assault, did not make a formal complaint to their university. In instances where a formal complaint was made, victim blaming or a lack of empathy was a common occurrence.

Male victims were not taken seriously, victims were questioned about their drinking habits, sexual harassment complaints were advised to take their harassment as a “compliment” and in one incident a victim was ostracised after the university breached confidentiality by advising the sporting club she was a member of that she was raped.

The full report from the AHCR, including an action plan, can be found here. Credit: Australian Human Rights Commission via Storyful