Universities 'actively covering up' sexual assault and harassment, report says

Universities have frequently failed to support victims of sexual assault and harassment, and in some instances were “actively covering up” or blocking study of its prevalence for fear of reputational damage, a new report has claimed.

Connecting the Dots, written by the End Rape on Campus Australia organisation, examined the frequency of sexual harassment and assault among tertiary students and accused universities of having inadequate support mechanisms and response policies, and of delegating responsibility to untrained staff.

A Macquarie University professor, Catharine Lumby, said the report detailed “the disproportionate and devastating impact” of sexual assaults on students, most of whom are female.

“Alarmingly, many universities are compounding this trauma by failing to support survivors and, in some cases, actively seeking to silence them,” she said.

“Too often, our universities have dealt with sexual assault and harassment of students by turning a blind eye, by claiming it is not their responsibility or, most shamefully, by actively covering up assaults. It is time to face the evidence and put a full stop to harassment and assault on campus.”

One in five women have experienced sexual assault since the age of 15, and one in 25 men, according the the Australian Bureau of Statistics, with the greatest risk being at typical university age.

One 2015 study by the National Union of Students found 27% of respondents had experienced sexual assault while enrolled at uni.

However, little further research has been conducted into the prevalence or nature of sexual assault among university campuses. The organisation said there was “some evidence” that previous research attempts were “blocked or undermined amid reputational concerns from the institutions”.

Rates of assault were likely much higher than revealed, EROC suggested, with other studies finding as few as one in 72 victims reported being assaulted to universities.

Among the numerous incidents and allegations, the report described an ACT residential college practice called “rockspidering”.

“During orientation week, male students at a residential college would knock on female student’s bedroom door: if the female opened the door, this was taken as ‘consent’ to have sex,” the report said.

It also noted previously reported incidents including a 2009 Facebook group created by a student at Sydney University’s St Paul’s College, called “Define statutory: pro-rape, anti-consent”; student revue skits about the drug Rohypnol to “help a student get laid”; and the creation of stubby holders emblazoned with “It’s not rape if it’s my birthday” at Sydney University’s Wesley College.

Police data revealed 153 official reports of rape and sexual assault in the five years to 2016 allegedly occurred on university property.

In the same period 575 official complaints to 27 universities were made, including 145 alleging rape, the report said, citing FOI data. Just six resulted in expulsion.

Most of the student rapes reported to EROC Australia occurred outside the university grounds, which many institutions did not then consider to be for their attention, the report said.

Rather than take responsibility, universities also “tend to conceptualise sexual assault as always, and only, a police matter”.

“However, universities do in fact have disciplinary and misconduct procedures, which give university officials the power to investigate student misconduct, make findings and deliver penalties.”

In some cases where universities had taken action, punishments included $55 fines, community service and residential accommodation transfers.

The report also claims university residences frequently dealt with reports on an “ad hoc basis”, non-compliant with university policy. Those policies were also often difficult to locate, confusing, out of date, inconsistent, or incomplete, it said.

Assault victims told EROC they had been been asked what the were wearing, questioned on their drinking, their behaviour and deterred from further reporting their case.

In some instances they felt university staff had overtly sided with the perpetrator.

One woman claimed she reported an assault to university staff and that the perpetrator admitted to the assault. He was transferred to another residential college but no further action was taken.

Responses sometimes included encouraging a victim to attempt informal resolution with a perpetrator, or contained “inappropriate” time limits on reporting, including the University of Queensland’s 40-day window for lodging grievances and the Australian Catholic University’s 20-day limit.

The ACU’s deputy vice-chancellor told Fairfax Media it had reviewed this policy and would update it to remove any time limit.

A spokeswoman for ACU told Guardian Australia that it had prevention and support policies and resources, and it encouraged incidents to be reported to university counsellors, harassment officers or the police.

According to the report Sydney University’s policy stated no action would be taken if an incident was reported more than 12 months later but a spokeswoman told Guardian Australia that, in practice, “each case is assessed on its merits”.

Sydney University told Guardian Australia it had acted on student feedback received last year to improve policies.

“A comprehensive review of complaints handling was undertaken and a variety of mechanisms put in place to ensure that students can immediately avail themselves of a confidential conversation with an appropriate trained staff member and access a range of other vital support resources and services,” a spokeswoman said.

While it has sought to act on feedback and ensuring survivors are referred to appropriate services, “the university does not see either the university or the [student representative council] as in a position to manage the ongoing support of survivors”.

In its report, EROC recommended training for staff, evidence-based information campaigns, survivor-centric policies and more effective disclosure and reporting methods.

It also called for a national reporting mechanism, education about sexual assault in high school and further funding of support services.

The report was submitted to the Australian Human Rights Commission’s survey on university sexual assault and harassment, launched as part of the “Respect. Now. Always” campaign, led by Universities Australia and the former sex discrimination commissioner Elizabeth Broderick.

All 39 Australian universities have joined the campaign to prevent and address sexual assault and harassment on campus, to increase visibility of support services and to obtain further data.

The current commissioner, Kate Jenkins, said the behaviour described in the report was “deplorable” and she thanked the organisation and students for sharing their experiences in the report and through the commission’s survey.

“I am committed to achieving positive change for the women and girls in our community who experience sexual assault and sexual harassment,” Jenkins said. “The fact that the university sector, through Universities Australia, has asked the commission to undertake this work shows that they are also committed to confronting sexual assault and sexual harassment on campus.”