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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
National
Calla Wahlquist

‘Distressing and confronting’: online sexual harassment rises for Australian university students during Covid

Interviews with 1,800 students revealed an increase in online harassment, with some saying they had been ‘pestered’ to send nude photos by fellow students or been sent nude photos without their consent.
The national student safety survey revealed an increase in online harassment, with students saying they had been ‘pestered’ to send nude photos by fellow students or been sent nude photos without their consent. Photograph: Tunatura/Getty Images/iStockphoto

Online sexual harassment rose sharply for university students during Covid-19 lockdowns and remote learning, including on private messages during Zoom lectures, a report has found.

The national student safety survey, released by Universities Australia on Wednesday, found one in 20 students had been sexually assaulted since starting university and one in six had been sexually harassed. The survey of 43,189 students was conducted by the Societal Research Centre.

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