Tag: AHRC Survey

A Women’s Officer Perspective
November 5, 2017 12:21 pm Comments Off on A Women’s Officer Perspective
It always fascinates me when people ask me if sexual assault is really an issue at Australian universities. I never know how to hide my disbelief or to resist the temptation to yell that it is one of the biggest issues faced by Australian students today.
In my role this year as the Women’s Officer of my residential accommodation, I have been a lightning rod for disclosures of sexual assault. In this position, I have been able to assist survivors in getting the support they need and helping them to return to normality as much as possible.
When I accepted this role, I knew I would be operating as the first point of contact for issues of sexual assault. I was well trained and felt prepared for everything this would entail. Despite this, the number of disclosures I have received has been entirely unexpected. Realistically, every single person I know will know at least one survivor of sexual assault. So, when people ask me if sexual assault is an issue, I am always shocked. It shocks me because time and time again I realise how much shame, guilt and secrecy surrounds survivors of sexual assault. This is a crime that is so rampant, yet so well hidden.
Before I stepped into this role, there were many of truths that I thought were self-evident about sexual assault. Throughout the year, however, I’ve been proven wrong. Instead of viewing it as a horrific crime committed by perpetrators who deserve punishment, I have learned that there are systemic issues that hide the existence of sexual assault and silence survivors of this crime. I have learned that it is the ultimate crime to commit because it does the most damage to survivors with the least repercussions for the perpetrator.
I have learned that there is so much more that we must do. The ANU has implemented consent training programs, and there will be a full-time sexual assault counsellor available to students and staff of the university. I am so excited about these changes and so proud to attend a university that is one of the first to implement these policies. However, there is still so much work to be done. There are still serious limits on grievance mechanisms that are accessible to sexual assault survivors in almost every university context, there are substantial challenges to survivors being capable of reporting, and there are limitations on punishments for perpetrators. These issues absolutely speak to wider societal issues, but we can do better in our university microcosm. While we have had some successes at the ANU, there is still so much more that needs to happen for adequate protection, safe recovery for survivors and effective justice mechanisms for perpetrators.
Despite all of this, there is one thing that has stood out the most across all the work I have done in the area of sexual assault this year. I have seen firsthand the phenomenal strength of survivors; individuals who consistently fight to get their power back, who show how they will not be defined by what has happened to them, rather that they will live their lives in a way that is empowering for them. I have been inspired by the strength and power of these people, in the face of unforgivable circumstances.
Survivors deserve so much more. They deserve to have a voice and to have their voices elevated. I’ve learned in my role that survivors need us – as friends, supporters, and leaders – to believe them, to support them, and to stand with them. This is an issue that affects so many, which requires all of us to take action and stop it from occurring and to fight for survivors to get the justice they deserve.

Resources
Canberra Rape Crisis Centre, Crisis Line
(02) 6247 2525
This is an over the phone counselling service. It is open from 7am to 11pm, 7 days a week. You can also use this number for counselling related inquiries or to book face-to-face appointments with Canberra Rape Crisis Centre. You must identify yourself as an ANU student to the CRCC but this information is not shared with anyone and the ANU will not be informed. All services are free of charge.
ANU Counselling
(02) 6125 2442
This is the phone number to book an appointment with ANU Counselling. You can book a standard appointment (50 mins) anytime. To book an on the day appointment for urgent help (25 mins) call at 9am or go into the Counselling Centre just before 9, as these appointments are first in best dressed. You can receive 6 free sessions per semester.
1800 RESPECT
1800 737 732
This is over the phone counselling and it iss available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. They can also refer you to local services. It is free of charge. 1800 RESPECT has a triage system, so the first person you speak to is not a counsellor. We recommend that you request to be put through to a counsellor straight away.
ANUSA and PARSA Student Assistance & Legal Officers
ANUSA (6125 4093) & PARSA (6125 2603)
These services are free and provide confidential assistance on financial, academic or advocacy support issues. Lawyers can offer legal advice.
ANU Women’s Department
Contact the Women’s Officer

For non-urgent inquiries: sa.womens@anu.edu.au
For urgent matters: 0467 092 808

The Women’s Department is part of ANUSA, and it advocates for and supports all ANU Women and non-binary students. As Women’s Officer, Holly can provide pastoral care, referrals to local support services, and give information about options for reporting within ANU and the support ANU can offer.
ANU Queer* Department
Contact the Queer* Officer

sa.queer@anu.edu.au

The Queer* Department is part of ANUSA, and it advocates for and supports all Queer* identifying students. Ari can provide pastoral care, referrals to local support services, and give information about options for reporting within the ANU and the support that the ANU can offer.

Claudia Kevin
The ANU Women’s Department: Then and Now
September 4, 2017 5:32 pm Comments Off on The ANU Women’s Department: Then and Now
Departments and autonomous collectives have played a vital role in activism at the ANU for decades. When the Women’s Department was first made an official part of ANUSA in 1993, Emma Partridge was the Women’s Officer – a role largely underfunded, misunderstood, and taken for granted. Although the Department has gone through a substantial amount of change since then, a few things remain the same.
The formation of supportive communities
Women’s spaces are an important way to meet other women on campus – to learn from each other, seek advice, and be in a safe and comfortable space. The Women’s Department was initially separate to a group called Women On Campus, who ran social events and took care of the Rapunzel Room, the women’s autonomous space. A series of notebooks were used to communicate with others who used the room. Entries in these books give insight into a close-knit community of students – from mundane statements (‘just popped in for a quiet spot on a busy day’) to the more serious, like advice about pregnancy. Other entries show just how much the Department has changed: a call-out for Women’s Officer described the role as not ‘too onerous’, and another entry detailed how many thought that it was a ‘nest of lesbians’.
Women’s spaces and activism on campus in previous decades have been in-person spaces. Today, this work largely takes place in online communities – which is more readily accessible to a greater amount people and is more immediate. The Women’s Department online spaces are a popular way of finding solidarity, learning, promoting interesting things that women and non-binary people are doing on and around campus, getting recommendations, advice, and as a forum for advocacy at the ANU.
Men complaining
Another constant is the backlash from men on campus – one entry in a notebook from 1993 describes how a man, upset that women had an autonomous space on campus, broke into the Rapunzel Room. An entry by Lise states: ‘they don’t actually want [a room], they just got cut that we made the Women’s Room happen. Besides the rest of the world is men’s space (or at least male dominated). I would suggest the bar, any café, lecture theatre, and so on and ad nauseam if they are looking for a men’s room’. Calls for a Men’s Department continue today.
Issues of safety on campus, sexual harassment and assault, and intersecting oppressions
Most of the problems that women and non-binary students faced in the past are still impacting us today. An article from 2002 titled ‘Security on campus: still not high on the university agenda’ by Nicola Jackson details the failings of the ANU Security in protecting vulnerable students. Today, areas of campus and surrounding suburbs are still poorly lit, security measures like the UniSafe Bus remain ineffective, and the University continues to treat students who speak up like a nuisance or a legal liability. Sexual assault and violence in our community is still endemic, as the recent release of the AHRC Survey demonstrates.
The marginalisation of the most vulnerable continues – 2002 articles ‘Racists hiding behind feminism’ by Allison Dellit and ‘Trans women in NOWSA: The case for inclusion’ by Julie Peters indicate that the Women’s Department has never been immune to the white and cis-centric feminism that is prominent in mainstream women’s spaces. We have made progress – the creation of the Women of Colour Collective has been imperative in the success of the current Department, and we are currently working on the inclusion and celebration of trans, intersex and gender-diverse people in the Department. But we still have a long way to go.
As long as there are groups who face oppression, there will be a need for a space in which a voice can be nurtured and heard. The ANU Women’s Department continues to provide this voice for those who are marginalised – for those who are spoken over, for those who feel like they can’t speak out at all. We will continue to advocate for the interests of women and non-binary people on campus and provide a safe and supportive community for them at the ANU.
Laura Perkov is the 2018 ANUSA Women’s Officer.

Laura Perkov
AHRC Joint Statement: Student Media Editors
August 29, 2017 7:13 pm Comments Off on AHRC Joint Statement: Student Media Editors
We know that there is a history of sexual assault on our university campuses. We know that our administrations continue to silence survivors and allow perpetrators to walk freely around our campuses. We know that the mainstream media continues to misrepresent student experiences and deny us a platform to have our voices heard.
The AHRC survey is not the source of this information. We know this as survivors, students, supporters and friends. We also know this as editors. In our role, we act as the first point of contact for many survivors; those wishing to share their experiences, call their administration to account, and challenge the often damaging norms that govern our campuses.
This aspect of our role has never been more important. Following the release of the AHRC survey, our respective student associations and women’s collectives will be demanding better from our administrations. We understand that we need to support our fellow student leaders in making these demands.
Therefore, we, as the editors of the student media, make this pledge.
We pledge to support survivors. We are often the first point of contact for survivors wishing to share their experiences. We understand that we play an imperative role in the process of ensuring that survivors feel safe and supported. We will act respectfully, communicate fully and openly with survivors, and ensure that their agency is maintained. If the survivor wishes, we will publish pieces anonymously and without identifying details. We will never give out their details to university administrations, to the mainstream media, or to any other party.
We pledge to hold our administrations to account. If the results of the AHRC survey tell us anything, it is that our universities are not doing enough to support survivors and potential survivors. Sexual assaults are unreported because students do not feel safe making disclosures. Information provided by the administrations is either opaque or non-existent. Perpetrators are not held responsible. A quick look into the archive of any student publication proves this to be true. We will hold our administrations to account – through factual reporting and honest opinion – and demand better.
We pledge to elevate student voices in discussions regarding sexual assault on campus. We’ve seen countless reports from mainstream media in the four weeks since the release of the AHRC survey. But there is one key thing missing from this reportage: survivors’ voices. We know that students are underrepresented in discussions regarding the issues that affect us. We hoped that this would change in the reportage of the survey. It hasn’t. As the editors of student media publications, we will elevate survivors’ voices in discussions around sexual assault on campus and we challenge the editors of the mainstream media to do the same.
We know that there is a history of sexual assault on our university campuses. We demand better from our administrations. We demand better from our student bodies. We demand better from the mainstream media.
To any student reading this right now wishing to share their experience, please know that we believe you and we stand with you. We will do everything in our capacity as editors to provide you with a platform where you feel safe and supported. Your voice is important.
Together, we will break the silence.
Signed,
Editors of Woroni (Australian National University)
Editors of Bossy (Australian National University)
Editors of ShOUT (Australian National University)
Editors of Grapeshot (Macquarie University)
Editors of Curieux (University of Canberra)
Editors of Catalyst (RMIT University)
Editors of Empire Times (Flinders University)
Editors of W’SUP (Western Sydney University)

Woroni Editor
Interview with Tanika Sibal
August 19, 2017 10:22 am Comments Off on Interview with Tanika Sibal
Tanika Sibal was a member of the organising committee of the Network of Women Students Australia (NOWSA). NOWSA is the annual conference for women and non-binary students which took place at the ANU from 17-21 July. On the final day of the conference, women and non-binary students dragged mattresses up to the Parliament House to demand government and university action on sexual assault. Tanika along with Freya Willis spoke at the protest. Freya sat down with Tanika to discuss the protest.
What was the protest at Parliament House about?
The protest at Parliament House was about lobbying the government to implement our 12 demands in order to improve the way that incidents of sexual assault are dealt with at universities. The 12 demands are:
–          To establish a permanent 1800 hotline
–          To establish physical and verbal campus reporting and support services with trained specialist counselling staff
–          To provide respect, consent and bystander training for all university and college staff and students
–          To provide respectful relationship and consent education training in primary and secondary schools
–          To implement and establish programs that address the intersectional impact of sexual violence
–          To establish a federal complaints and compliance mechanism for survivors or advocates to make complaints about universities mishandling of sexual misconduct
–          To ensure survivors are empowered to direct the proceedings in response to their report of sexual assault
–          To commission future research to measure levels of sexual assault at universities
–          To provide ‘responding with compassion’ training and ‘vicarious trauma’ training to all staff and student representatives
–          To ensure that reporting procedures are standardised and comprehensive with clear disciplinary consequences for offenders
–          To provide easy to digest information for students about reporting procedures and the stress that follow a report being made
–          To implement sexual misconduct plans in all universities.
The protest was run as a part of the Network of Women Students Australia 2017 conference and was timely, being just under two weeks before the launch of the results of the AHRC survey. The mattresses represent the burden that sexual assault survivors carry with them around campus.
What was the feeling at the protest like?
Emotional and intense, but in a positive way. Lots of tears were shed, but it was also such a powerful thing to feel like you were involved in something huge, something that’s working to create positive change. There was a large sense of community, with all of the attendees being supportive of one another and knowing that we were all working together for a common goal – ending sexual assault.
What went into organising the protest?
This goes without being said, but a lot of planning (laughs)! One of the biggest tasks for the protest was acquiring mattresses – we spent a lot of time on gumtree and in K-mart.
Throughout the NOWSA conference attendees had the opportunity to spray paint messages on to the mattresses, which really allowed everyone to give it their own personal touch.
Another big component of organising the protest was managing the media. My fellow organiser Emma put her sweat and tears into this. As Freya can also attest, one of the difficulties with the media around this issue is that they always want to hear the stories of survivors, but this can be a really difficult thing to talk about. Emma and Nina Funnell, who were speaking at the conference, had to manage media sensitively and were taking dozens of calls a day and vetting them. This was all so that survivors weren’t hounded with calls and requests for interviews.
What have you learned about campaigning?
I learnt a lot about campaigning, not only from the protest but also from NOWSA as a whole. One of the biggest things I’ve learnt is to firstly pick your battles but then not giving up on the ones you have picked. It’s vital to take time out and engage in self-care, especially if that means it will prevent you from giving up.
Why do you think the protest was important? What did you take away from it?
The protest was crucial to engage the government and get the government’s help to reform how universities deal with sexual misconduct. It not only gave a platform for women and non-binary students to come together and take action against wrongdoings, it also provided a voice to many student leaders.
Personally, I was very empowered by speaking at the protest. My speech sparked an increase of discussions about sexual assault within my extended family, which is something I honestly did not envisage happening at all, let alone now. I’m very proud that I could start such discussions within my community.

Freya Willis
I’m a (Not) Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here
August 15, 2017 6:35 pm Comments Off on I’m a (Not) Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here
The plane touches down into the Sydney Airport, and I sigh internally, breathing in the familiarity and safety of return. For me, Australia is a safe place: I speak the language, and I know the culture. It’s where my home, family and friends are. I love to travel, and I especially love to explore countries and cultures distinct from my own. China was no exception, but there was one negative experience that sticks in my mind.
Within my first 20 minutes in Asia, in Singapore, a Vietnamese man asked for a photo with me. I joked later that he was my first fan. At The China House in Tianjin, I asked another fan’s friend to take a photo on my phone too. A woman asked for selfies with me twice at Mount Taishan. My Chinese friend kept joking that I was famous. It was funny, but it felt strange to be treated like an undeserving celebrity.
The gazes and not-so-subtle photos became an ordinary part of my life. In Australia, I would never tolerate it, but I put it up to cultural difference. It’s all part of the travel experience for a young white woman, and it’s less irritating if you joke about it.
Then I started to hear from multiple people that a man had been lurking on the street between our hotel and university, following and grabbing the white women in our group. He’d grabbed someone’s bum from behind as she waited to cross the street; he’d followed another pair closely until they ran away.
One morning, I was walking with my roommate, when a man walked up fast from beside me, invasively brushed against my side with his forearm, did an 180-degree turn and walked back past me. Seemingly, he had made a v-line for me. As I walked home alone from class that day, the eyes on me were signs of a threat. My vulnerability was too much. I got back to my room and cried.
I talked to other girls in my group. It was the same man. This was reassuring in a sense, but it also meant we had a consistent threat, and we were on constant lookout. The walk to class was no longer simple or enjoyable. The men in our group suggested that they accompany us to class. This was not the point.
We told the convenor, a woman from NTU in Singapore, and she recommended we go to the police. Although most of the others thought it would be useless, two of us went along with a student guide from Tianjin University. We entered a police station thick with cigarette smoke, despite the ‘no smoking’ signs in every room. Of the 40-odd police officers’ photos displayed on the wall, only two were women. The only woman we saw in the flesh was the cleaner – picking cigarette butts off the floor as she mopped. Our guide translated as we explained what had happened, and the officer asked us endless questions. Where did it happen? What time was it exactly? How tall was he? Why didn’t you call the police straight away? They were only interested in our experiences; we weren’t allowed to speak for our friends. I was worried that our guide might mistranslate something and make them dismiss the whole case.
Eventually, they decided to look at the video footage – one advantage of China’s heightened surveillance. They flipped between shots of the surrounding streets before telling us that, even if the cameras did catch something, the police couldn’t arrest him unless he did something ‘more extreme.’ They told us to try and catch it on camera next time. Before we left, frustrated, the police officer laboured to try to teach us how to say ‘leave me alone’ in Chinese. If only we’d thought of that!
The next few days, we noticed officers and cars on the way to class. The next time we saw the man, he walked on to the road to avoid us. It seemed that, despite our unpleasant experience at the station, the police had spoken to him and increased their presence. Suffice to say I was pleasantly surprised, as were my friends back home, particularly those with Chinese heritage. A few days later, I got an email from the ANU, saying they hoped I was okay and offering me phone counselling if I wanted it. Others on the trip received no such emails from their universities. I have no clue what it would have been like if this was in Canberra, or indeed if the perpetrator had been a fellow student, rather than a random Chinese man.
Despite the follow-up, the experience at the police station was incredibly negative. It’s hard to explain it succinctly, but there was a strong vibe that they thought we were wasting their time. It was frustrating for me, but I know I was lucky to be a white person in a non-white country and not vice versa. Imagine being an immigrant to Australia, not a tourist, and being assaulted by a local. Imagine being asked why you didn’t call the police straight away, when you don’t have a full grasp of the language they speak. Imagine being scared to call the police, because they don’t treat you the same way as people of their race. My Chinese-American friend told me later that she never feels comfortable walking on the street in the USA as a woman of colour. The plight of minorities, racial or otherwise, is worse in this regard and this is clear from the survey results released this month.
I have heard many horrific stories of police reactions to sexual harassment and assault, in Australia and abroad. I can understand why so many go unreported, and it breaks my heart that the system so often fails to protect people. I hope this month’s AHRC report doesn’t dishearten survivors, and that it leads to better responses, at least in Australia.

Sylvia Gunn
From the Disabilities Officer
August 14, 2017 7:44 pm Comments Off on From the Disabilities Officer
This past week, the Australian Human Rights Commission’s (AHRC) Survey on Sexual Harassment and Sexual Assault has been a topic of discussion across many university circles. What shocks me most is that there are still people on this campus who found these results shocking at all.
Survivors, friends of survivors, student representatives, and staff members who have received disclosures are all painstakingly aware of the horrifying excerpts of cases of sexual assault and sexual harassment on our campus. For us, these results merely confirm what we have suspected for decades.
I am lucky to have a voice and would like to share on behalf of some students who have been silenced due to the mistreatment of their disclosure of sexual assault. They have confided in me and are comfortable with me sharing their stories anonymously to raise awareness of the unfortunately gross mishandling of sexual assault and sexual harassment that our peers here at the ANU have endured.
A Senior Resident at a residential hall was accused of assaulting a student. The hall did not remove the SR from the hall of residence; rather, he chose to leave weeks after rumours of the alleged assault circulated. In another instance, a fellow resident and alleged abuser was appointed to SR after the administration of the residential hall had been made aware of the abuse. Unsurprisingly, the AHRC survey found a common theme of perpetrators abusing positions of power. Not only is staff engaging in this behaviour towards students an area of concern. The survey also identified instances of senior students in leadership positions sexually assaulting or sexually harassing other students in clubs and societies, at Uni Games, on orientation camps and within residential colleges.
There are also other types of power imbalances when it comes to perpetrators and survivors of sexual harassment and sexual assault. The AHCRC survey highlighted that students with disability were more likely to have been sexually assaulted in 2015 or 2016 than students without disability. As the Disabilities Officer, I am deeply disturbed to know that in some instances students have even been declined special consideration for assessments when applying on the basis of having been sexually assaulted.
There are far too many incidences of survivors of sexual assault and sexual harassment not being offered support. Rather, at times they are told that little, to nothing, can done about these allegations and are recommended to leave if they feel threatened or unsafe in their current living situation. Let’s get one thing straight: no survivor should ever be forced to be in the presence of or make peace with their perpetrator, especially not when they are being encouraged to do so purely on the institution’s best interests. In the above two SR incidents, the residential halls preferred to stand neutral between the survivor and the perpetrator. Make no mistake, neutrality favours the perpetrator.

When, if any, in any other crime is the victim blamed and ostracised?
These mishandled cases of sexual assault and sexual harassment discourage other survivors within the community fromto disclosinge and create a barrier from receiving much-needed support. Our institution continues to silence survivors, but we can no longer continue this battle. I came to Australia to study at the ANU in hopes of escaping the violence towards women and lack of respect for my education as a woman in Pakistan. Yet, I personally know two students who were left to drop out of the ANU due not only to the lack of support but even the accusational attitude that they were met with when disclosing to the university. How, in today’s Australia, can sexual assault and sexual harassment still prevent women from receiving an equal and fair education to those of their peers? To paraphrase, how does our university allow perpetrators to continue studying at the ANU while victims of a crime are targeted and left unsupported to the extent that some have found it impossible to complete their tertiary education?
Of the students who were sexually assaulted at the ANU, 93 per cent did not make a formal report or complaint to anyone at the university. I am stunned that the horror stories we are aware of only shape four per cent (three per cent preferred not to say) of the disclosed cases of sexual assault on campus. This alone should compel the ANU to advocate for its large community of survivors to encourage them to seek support rather than be made to feel like a liability.
As I mentioned at the Speak Out and Sit In by ANUSA and PARSA, I echo what fellow survivors have said. There are no congratulations to be had at the release of this survey nor are comparisons between universities appropriate. We demand the ANU to do better. We can no longer work around mishandled cases of sexual assault and sexual harassment. I demand that the safety of students become an utmost priority and can only hope that the ANU will follow through and continue to take ANUSA and PARSA’s demands seriously. We need to finally recognise sexual assault and sexual harassment for what it is, a crime, and take appropriate action against perpetrators of this crime.
To all survivors of sexual assault and sexual harassment: we believe you, it is not your fault, and you are not alone. Please reach out to available resources for support during this painful and infuriating time.
Aji is the 2017 ANU Disabilities Officer.
The Disabilities Student Association is the only on-campus group run by students with disability, for students with disability. Aji can be contacted for all non-urgent matters. She can provide confidential support, referrals to local professional support services, and can offer assistance when navigating the ANU’s support systems. Aji can be contacted at sa.disabilities@anu.edu.au.
If this story has raised any concerns, you can contact:
Canberra Rape Crisis Centre, Crisis Line
(02) 6247 2525
ANU Counselling
(02) 6125 2442
1800 RESPECT
1800 737 732
ANU Women’s Department
Contact the Women’s Officer, Holly Zhang:
– For non-urgent inquiries: sa.womens@anu.edu.au
– For urgent matters: 0467 092 808

Woroni Editor
Myth busting with Restorative ANU
6:47 pm Comments Off on Myth busting with Restorative ANU
In the weeks preceding and following the release of the Change the Course results, a lot of myths about sexual assault have been bantered around the ANU campus and internet comment sections. Restorative ANU are here to bust a few that are particularly close to our heart:
Myth: Only the police can deal with sexual assault.
Fact: The ANU has rules about misconduct (mostly found in the Discipline Rule (2015)). If an ANU student victimises or harasses another student, they are committing misconduct. The ANU can investigate an incident, come to a finding, and take steps against students who are found to have committed misconduct. A student who misbehaves can be: excluded from campus, have their enrolment suspended or terminated, and the ANU can notify other agencies or organisations about the finding.
Universities can create administrative systems that empower survivors, hold perpetrators accountable, and still afford alleged perpetrators procedural fairness. Unlike the court system, universities can’t throw people in jail – and so findings of misconduct do not need to be held to the same standard of proof as criminal convictions of sexual assault.
In addition to this, universities have a duty of care towards their students, and the ANU has a responsibility to foster a safe learning environment. This includes dealing with sexual harassment and assault, even when the victim does not want to go to the police. This was reiterated by the Education Minister, Simon Birmingham, in his statement following the release of the survey results – his office will be directly writing to each university to determine what steps they are taking to uphold their legal obligation to promote a safe learning environment.
Myth: Even if they’re not the only ones who can deal with it, police are still best equipped to deal with sexual assault.
Fact: It is estimated that in Australia, fewer than one in 100 sexual assaults will result in a criminal conviction.
In an adversarial system that prioritises the rights of the accused, victims are not put in the centre of the alleged assault, but they are witnesses. And, in some cases, their bodies are even treated as evidence. When the impacts of trauma start to show, such as memory fog, dissociation, or your body freezing, the process regards this as contradictory evidence.
Trials can take years, and universities deflect responsibility by insisting on going to the police and that they ‘can’t do anything’ in the meantime. Years of walking around campus, going to classes, trying to live your life – all while seeing your perpetrator face no repercussions for their actions.
Convictions are often lenient. Many cases don’t progress to court because they are not ‘perfect victims’ – because they couldn’t remember what happened, because they were assaulted by a partner, because they waited ‘too long’ to speak out, or because it’s just a case of ‘he said, she said’.
Authorities tell victims that, because their perpetrator believed that they were consenting, then their experience does not constitute assault – even if ‘in [their] own mind’, they did not consent. Perpetrators are allowed to walk away, to never think of what they did ever again – but for victims, ‘the reality doesn’t get to be over … I don’t get to know who I would be today had this not happened to me, and I mourn for that person’.
This is a traumatising and emotionally exhausting process. Who would blame any survivor of violence for not using the criminal justice system when it treats them so abhorrently?
Myth: ‘I don’t associate with people like that’; ‘Rapists are monsters who hide in the bushes and attack at night’; ‘He’s a decent guy – I don’t think he could do what she said he did.’

Fact: Change the Course shows what we have been saying for a long time: most victims of sexual violence are women, and most perpetrators are men. More than half of perpetrators attend the same university as their victim. There are rapists, sexual harassers, stalkers and other perpetrators of sexual violence at the ANU. And they’re not hiding in the bushes; they go to your tutes, they live on res, they hang out at the ANU Bar. They’re your Facebook friends. How do you find out who among us are the perpetrators behind the statistics we’re seeing? Unfortunately, women and queer* people often only find out once it’s too late – we find out only once we’ve become the victims of sexual harassment or assault.
If you don’t think you know any rapists or enablers – listen to the women and non-binary people in your life. Even when they’re talking about your mate. Even when you don’t want to believe it. Even when you can come up with a million reasons it didn’t happen that way – listen to them.
Myth: Restorative ANU wants everyone to hug it out and let monsters roam our campus
Fact: By doing nothing, our university already lets monsters roam our campus. Perpetrators are allowed to recommit as they face little to no disciplinary action – they are allowed to take up leadership positions in Clubs, ResComs, and become SRs. They are allowed to move around to different colleges. They are allowed to continue attending our university, and they are allowed to graduate. Many victims of violence do not get this opportunity.
The ANU did not comply with the largest FOI request in history – Sunday Night revealed that hundreds of complaints had been made at universities across Australia, with little disciplinary action against perpetrators.
How many incidents have there been at the ANU? How many expulsions or removals? Change the Course indicates that there were 116 incidents at the ANU, but this is only out of the approximately 1500 people surveyed. This means that the number is likely to be much higher, and the number of perpetrators who continue to roam our campus remains terrifying.
Restorative processes can only take place when every person involved in an incident agrees. Perpetrators sitting down and having a conversation about what they did wrong is something that most never have to do, and in a conference, there’s nowhere for them to hide. Sometimes, restorative practice doesn’t involve the victim and perpetrator, but the victim and their surrounding community (people they lived with and were affected by the incident, family and friends, those who supported them, those who supported the perpetrator), and the institution that betrayed and mistreated them.
We don’t want everyone to ‘hug it out’. We want an apology, and a commitment to do better. We don’t want press conferences; we want concrete action.
***
The ANU can do better
The news that the ANU will fund external reviews into both the University-wide policy, as well as each residence, gives some of us activists a little bit of hope. Now is our chance to ask the university to show us what ‘zero-tolerance’ actually means, and see consequences for perpetrators of sexual assault and harassment at our university.
We want an apology from the University for how it has treated us. We want support for survivors and student advocates who are expected to do the work of professional service providers. We want disciplinary action for perpetrators. We want a restorative process so we can finally start healing.
If this story has raised any concerns, you can contact:
Canberra Rape Crisis Centre, Crisis Line
(02) 6247 2525
ANU Counselling
(02) 6125 2442
1800 RESPECT
1800 737 732
ANU Women’s Department
Contact the Women’s Officer, Holly Zhang:
– For non-urgent inquiries: sa.womens@anu.edu.au
– For urgent matters: 0467 092 808

Laura Perkov
No Results Found
6:33 pm Comments Off on No Results Found
The ANU policy library is a labyrinth. Apart from the slight convenience of being listed in alphabetical order, it’s a mystifying list of policy and procedure ranging from Admissions to Cabcharge guidelines to Workplace Inspections. And sexual assault is nowhere on the list.
Today, most students turn to the internet as their first source of information. For information on how our university looks after us, its website is logically the first port of call.
But ANU’s sexual assault policy is incredibly difficult to find, where it exists online at all. The first result of a ‘sexual assault policy’ or ‘sexual harassment policy’ search on the ANU’s website redirects to the policy library. The only direct result for sexual harassment is ‘Staff grievance resolution’, though if you look hard enough there is a procedure for presenting discrimination, harassment and bullying. The sexual assault policy even harder to find: a search returns no results. Instead, ‘sexual assault’ is located as a subsection of the ‘student critical incident’ policy. Here, sexual assault is merely mentioned in a list of other serious and traumatic incidences, and offers no information as to what to expect from the University should a survivor choose to disclose.
For a survivor, or their supporters, this is frightening. Stories about university mismanagement of a disclosure are far from uncommon. How is someone meant take a step into that process, when they’re given no idea of what to expect from it?
Providing clear and visible information on sexual assault and harassment does not just hold universities accountable to fair and transparent policies: it can improve rates of reporting, and play a key role in changing negative cultures and misconceptions of sexual assault.
A website with good information addresses the context of sexual assault in universities. It disproves rape myths and tells a survivor that their experience is always serious enough. It outlines a procedurally fair disclosure and discipline process. And it demands that we do better.
To its credit, the ANU Website does tick some of the boxes. Its current subpage ‘Finding help and support if you have been sexually assaulted,’ explains what sexual assault is, and what the rights of the survivor are. It provides links to internal and external support services. There’s also a link to a companion subpage, ‘Supporting someone who has been sexually assaulted.’ The resources that both of these pages’ link to are ones that university staff and residential leaders are trained to be aware of, and they’re crucial starting points of information for someone trying to process an assault.
But, 93 per cent of students who were subject to harassment did not seek ANU’s support or assistance. As a potential platform for change, the website isn’t doing enough. Students in need of help aren’t going to scroll through policy documents, read occupancy agreements or otherwise spend hours searching for concrete information. They need that information at their fingertips.
A university must not only respond effectively and appropriately to sexual assault and harassment when they occur, it must work to prevent them from occurring. While certainly not the solution, ensuring that its policy is clear and understandable would be a step for the ANU toward helping its students understand what sexual assault is, what their rights are, and how they can hold their University accountable for any response.
The ANU has its policies: a response to a disclosure doesn’t take place in a vacuum. Make them visible, and be accountable to them – and we might feel like we have a chance of being looked after.

Woroni Editor
An Ode to all Students
6:28 pm Comments Off on An Ode to all Students
We live in an environment where students preach an egalitarian society. The idea of discrimination on a public level is quickly shut down by peers, teachers or your internet warriors. It is something we as students of the ANU take pride in; our progressive attitudes providing hope for what we are to bring in the future. Yet there are cracks, fault lines and imperfections, as there is with any large social system. One of our greatest weaknesses, as a body of severely intelligent and well-rounded students, is the secret, underlying feeling we all have – we see ourselves as better than others. More capable of doing the job, deserving a scholarship or holding a moral high ground to crush our opponents down.

‘You’re better than that.’ Four words were given to my friend by his ex-girlfriend in advice on never getting with me, four words that placed a label over my head. Slut? Unintelligent? Underachieving? Mentally unhealthy? I don’t know what his ex meant when she said it, but, to me, she meant it all. Most of all she meant that I was less than her. Never had I experienced such an intense negative opinion. I had always considered myself well respected, always making a conscious effort to be respectful of others. Suddenly I found myself sitting in my room, re-evaluating who I had become at college. I had someone look down on me, a third party with such an intense opinion of me. This left an impact on my identity, my self-value and my life choices. Since moving to college, I had become more liberal in every possible way. I saw this as only positive; I had pulled back the barriers of my perfectionistic expectations to be more comfortable in my own skin. A condition for my self-acceptance was I now faced outward retaliation for the first time. Not to mention from someone who barely knows me. After a night of wallowing in self-pity, I realised I had two options with this situation; fuel myself with shame and anger, shrink into a ball and take away my newfound confidence. Or I could send a message that we, as students, need to hear.

There is a social uprising to the treatment of any gender in an oppressive manner. As a group of mostly progressive students, we not only outwardly reject explicit discrimination but implicit behaviour as well. We will no longer stand for rape culture, sexism, homophobia or racist comments under people’s breath, ironic jokes or so much as a whistle in a person’s direction as they simply go about their day to day life. However, the only way to begin a true change to sexist culture and unacceptable norms is to start believing we are equal. That no one is above another. This classist, arrogant and backwards form of thinking is what stops a shift in negative cultural behaviour. We grow blind by our own egos; our own self-absorbed attitudes take over. We cannot allow our faults at students stop us from making the same mistakes past generations have. People argue that life is a competition and you do whatever it takes to win. That belief has a hidden consequence; you can never win in the long term. You are eventually dragged back by the ghosts of your past that you put down for a singular selfish moment of self-gain. If we, as a university, want to see a new culture, want to escape backwards and toxic behaviour then it begins with pushing away our petty pride and accepting one another as equal, no matter a person’s life decisions. Evaluate whether you’re supporting your peers, your friends, your lovers and your teachers or if you’re dragging the whole movement back.

The AHRC released their report the same day following the defamation of my persona. 51 per cent of us reading this have experienced a form of sexual harassment in 2016. A number, another painfully tragic number, in a pool full of victims who continue to go through every day, fighting back against the unfair world we still live in. Our Vice-Chancellor Brian Schmidt’s beginning words leave a haunting effect on how far we still have to go for university culture to change. ‘I want to start by saying sorry. Sorry to any student, to any staff member, to any member of our alumni community who has experienced sexual harassment or sexual assault on our campus.’ There is a tone of mourning, fear and desperation, for an answer on how to solve this national crisis. The first step is to support one another, to accept one another for our differences, our different approaches to life and, then, to embrace it. No one is above anyone else, we are all simply different, and it is beyond important we take advantage of this to solve the issue our Chancellor desperately wants to be solved.

We need to restructure our thinking, to turn it around in an entirely different direction, to think outside of the box. This begins with opening ourselves to a greater degree of empathy and respect for others. The moment a student turns against another for the way they live their life, their sexuality, their mental health, how they approach their academics, it immediately risks the flame burning out, a flame which could have very well redefined the world in which we live.

If we, as students, want older generations to begin taking us seriously, to stop seeing us as the avocado eating internet warriors, it is time that we stop thinking we are above others and instead embrace the intricacies and complexities of every peer. This is what will remould our university in being a place to be proud.
If this story has raised any concerns, you can contact:
Canberra Rape Crisis Centre, Crisis Line
(02) 6247 2525
ANU Counselling
(02) 6125 2442
1800 RESPECT
1800 737 732
ANU Women’s Department
Contact the Women’s Officer, Holly Zhang:
– For non-urgent inquiries: sa.womens@anu.edu.au
– For urgent matters: 0467 092 808

Olivia Ireland
Defeating Campaigns
August 13, 2017 9:13 pm Comments Off on Defeating Campaigns
When the Women’s Department was cleaning out the Women’s Space a few weeks ago, I found campaign materials protesting sexual violence which was 40 years old. I was so confronted because the problems they spoke about are the same ones we are facing today. It made me wonder: how this issue has been allowed to go on for so long?
My disbelief, of course, comes partly from a place of horror. My instinct to support and believe survivors is so strong that I can’t comprehend why universities don’t punish such a heinous crime. But, it is also shocking to me because students and activists have been fighting this issue for decades, and to little avail.
We have seen dozens of survivors go public with stories of mistreatment, Women’s Collectives and allies have been staging protests and campaigning since the 1970s, and, anecdotally, we know that most people will know someone who is a survivor of sexual assault. Yet, by most metrics, not a lot has changed in the way universities respond to sexual assault, and the problem is as rampant as ever.
If this story has raised any concerns, you can contact:
Canberra Rape Crisis Centre, Crisis Line
(02) 6247 2525
ANU Counselling
(02) 6125 2442
1800 RESPECT
1800 737 732
ANU Women’s Department
Contact the Women’s Officer, Holly Zhang:
– For non-urgent inquiries: sa.womens@anu.edu.au
– For urgent matters: 0467 092 808
It makes me wonder, how did this happen? How have universities defeated so many campaigns over so many years?
Step 1: Students alert the administration of the issue. In response, the administration ignores or minimises the issue. Students may alert the administration to ‘red flags’, they may present demands or reform proposals, and in response… nothing. Administrators may nod in agreement and give an understanding smile so that students get the impression they are on the same side. But then there is total inaction.
Step 2: Students escalate pressure through organising campaigns, petitions, protests, speaking to the media, etc. to try and force administrations to act. In the past year, we can see evidence of this; the Open Day and Wesley College protests at the University of Sydney, women coming forward about the ‘Eagle Rock’ rituals at B&G, the NOWSA mattress protest at Parliament House and numerous articles and disclosures published in student and mainstream media.
Step 3: Administrations offer to consult with students, and set up a committee to look into the issue. For most organisers, this is thought to be a win. If an administration is seen to be cooperating, it is often seen as counter-intuitive to continue escalation strategies. As a result, the campaign group often becomes demobilised and disintegrates. It is also much harder to maintain public pressure, especially through the media, when the university is seen to be cooperating.
Students begin working with the administration, usually volunteering their time and labour for free.
Step 4: Progress slows down. Delaying tactics are a particularly effective one for universities. The institutional memory in student organisations is limited.
Students are only at university for a very limited period of time – so it is only a matter of time before they go home for the summer or graduate. Most student leaders serve their organisation on a one-year term. The handover from one leader to the next is not always guaranteed, particularly when you factor in burn-out which means that leaders often step away from activism once their term is over.
The result is that the administration can let the committee die or ignore student contributions because the pressure on them to act has relaxed. Students working on the issue leave, and their replacements often struggle to learn the ropes and the momentum going. Nothing changes.
Repeat steps 1-4.
What this cycle illustrates is that universities have refused to take proactive action. They have swept the issue under the rug and, while they do nothing, more and more students’ safety is put at risk. All the while, the burden of supporting survivors of sexual assault and campaigning against sexual violence has fallen on students. Students have had to remind universities of their basic duty to provide a safe learning environment. Students have been first responders and the support person for survivors. Students have been left to envision, design and reform policies and procedures.
Ensuring students’ safety is the one of the most essential pillars of a productive living and educational environment. This is not student’s responsibility. Enough is enough. It’s the university’s turn to take a
stand against sexual violence.
In 40 years-time, when members of the Women’s Department look through our campaign materials, I hope they don’t have the same reaction I did.

Freya Willis is the Deputy Officer of the ANU Women’s Department

Freya Willis