The Hunting Ground

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.

 

Find out more (click to view)

A Human Rights Commission Report into sexual violence on campus revealed that 1 in 10 female university students had been sexually assaulted in 2015 or 2016, and that women living on campus are at particularly high risk.
Only 7% of students were living on campus in 2015/16. But those students made up 34% of those who were sexually assaulted in the same two year period.

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. 

3,785 SIGNATURES SO FAR

Sign the petition

Dear Australian university residences,

We are calling on all university residences to do everything possible to prevent sexual assault on campuses across Australia.

We urge every university residence to ensure that all students and relevant campus staff are provided with best-practice training in sexual consent and prevention of sexual assault.

Signed,

* required fields

Latest activity

Edna , 3133  /  signed 2017-07-22 09:20:02 +1000
Maureen , 3031  /  signed 2017-07-22 09:19:49 +1000
natalie , 3150  /  signed 2017-07-22 09:17:53 +1000
joe , 3936  /  signed 2017-07-22 09:16:52 +1000
"MORE NEEDS TO BE DONE. MAYBE A TWO DAY SEMINAR THAT EVERY STUDENT MUST ATTEND. DISCUSSINGDATE RAPEAND WHAT NO MEANS."
Karin , 3000  /  signed 2017-07-20 22:25:12 +1000
"I was a residential tutor at a university college for a few years, and during that time I was the official tutor that students could come to if they suffered any sort of harassment/assault. The colleges collectively provided training for the role – it was terrifying. Their first suggesting was to get the victim/survivor in the same room as the offender and mediate a conversation about the incident. We were distinctly encouraged to avoid getting the police involved at any stage.
Not good enough. (And I personally resolved that if a student came to me, then I would suggest going to the police if I thought the situation warranted it.)"
Justine , 3127  /  signed 2017-07-18 21:23:26 +1000
"I work in the area of sexuality education and the more i talk to uni students the more i see the vital need for this education. It’s touched on in high schools but its only mentioned not tackled in detail"
Jessica , 4006  /  signed 2017-07-07 12:38:27 +1000
Josee , 3081  /  signed 2017-07-05 17:11:11 +1000
"Sexual assault is not an acceptable behaviour in contemporary society, but some people continue to behave aggressively and willingly commit sexual assaults – predominantly on women. Universities must take steps to educate all students about acceptable standards of behaviour on campus & offer assistance to victims of sexual assault."
Jessica , 7010  /  signed 2017-07-05 14:34:46 +1000
Amy , 7162  /  signed 2017-07-05 13:37:59 +1000
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