Uni Residences: Invest in training to prevent sexual assault
Young women attending universities are being sexually assaulted at horrifying rates - and a recent Australian Human Rights Commission report shows that those living in uni residences are at a particularly high risk.
Training in consent and sexual violence is absolutely critical to address sexual violence on campus. Students should be taught about informed and active consent; how to intervene safely if they think someone else might be unsafe; and how to respond if one of their friends discloses that they've been assaulted.
Can you join the call for university residences to do everything possible to create a safe environment for students -- starting with training all students and relevant staff in consent and the prevention of sexual assault?
You can view the results of Fair Agenda's 2018 residence training survey here.
*If you or someone you know has experienced sexual assault, you can call 1800 RESPECT on 1800 737 732 for 24/7 support.
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Why do we need training? Too many students don’t know what it means to get informed consent; and genuinely want to know more about how to have good, consensual sex. They need the tools to understand how to ethically approach decision making around their sexual relationships; and also how to safely intervene if they think a friend might be at risk. What’s more, students say that staff dealing with disclosures often don’t know how to respond - training welfare staff is important to ensure that a student who has worked up the courage to come forward isn't re-traumatised by the process.