Universities have been criticised for their approach to student welfare after a searing report revealed the tertiary sector had failed to provide adequate support services to those who had faced sexual violence on campuses.
The 121-page report into consent laws across Australia, released on Thursday afternoon, described sexual violence as a “national crisis” disproportionately affecting women and young people.
Almost nine in 10 women who experienced sexual assault in the last decade did not contact the police, Australian Bureau of Statistics data shows.
The report offered 17 recommendations to harmonise consent laws and instil trauma-informed practices, including ensuring the agency of victim-survivors is “paramount, actively respected and upheld”.
The Coalition-led committee zeroed in on the university sector, describing the situation as “a shameful state of affairs” and adding its response had contributed to low reporting rates.
In particular, the report found the process of making complaints to universities and the tertiary regulator, TEQSA, and how complaints were subsequently dealt with, caused great trauma to victim-survivors of sexual violence.
Witnesses told the committee the process of making a complaint to the university often resulted in re-traumatisation and, in some cases, students being unable to complete their studies.
“The committee cannot over-emphasise how troubled it is by these outcomes, nor over-state how disappointed it is in the university sector’s overall response,” the report said.
The committee chair and Liberal senator, Paul Scarr, described in parliament the findings as “a serious indictment” on the sector, adding the committee “lacks confidence that the university sector as a whole will respond appropriately to the crisis without strong intervention”.
The report recommended the intervention come in the form of an independent taskforce to oversee universities’ policies and practices to ensure effective and accessible complaints processes are in place.
It also recommended TEQSA face an independent review over its response to sexual violence on campus.
The Greens senator and committee member Larissa Waters said TEQSA had been “missing in action”.
“It is abundantly clear that Universities Australia and TEQSA have not been up to the task of responding to sexual assault on university campuses or residential halls,” Waters said.
“Students need to know their safety is being taken seriously. Parents need to know their kids are safe in residential halls. Universities need to be forced to take action.”
The Universities Australia CEO, Catriona Jackson, called the report “another welcome step” in the “ongoing work to address the societal issue of sexual harm”.
“We are proud of our efforts to date but we recognise there is much more we can do collectively,” she said.
“As a sector, we are continuing to confront this very serious issue and that is what we will continue to do because that is what our students and staff deserve.”
Its latest National Student Safety Survey, released in 2021, found one in 20 students had been sexually assaulted since starting university and one in six had reported being sexually harassed.
The body will hold another redesigned survey in 2024 after continued backlash and lobbying from advocacy groups and the federal government.
Leading bodies in sexual safety End Rape on Campus Australia and Fair Agenda welcomed the recommendations of the committee and thanked it for recognising the “appalling actions” of universities in the space.
“We have been flabbergasted at the utter failure of TEQSA to address this issue over the past seven years, and believe intervention and accountability of the regulator are desperately needed.
“An independent taskforce staffed with experts in violence prevention and response, with a government mandate to actually hold universities accountable, could start driving the change we desperately need in this area right now.”
Last month the education minister, Jason Clare, announced a working group headed by the chief executive of Our Watch, Patty Kinnersly, to consult with advocacy groups and offer immediate actions on student safety.
Clare told Guardian Australia all students and staff should feel safe on campus, which is why he established the group as a matter of urgency.
“Sexual assault and harassment on campus is serious,” he said. “It’s clear that not enough has been done to address this in our universities.”
TEQSA has been approached for comment.
