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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/live/2017/aug/01/university-sexual-assault-report-released-live
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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
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| University sexual assault report: half of all students harassed in 2016 – live | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| 1.32am BST | |
| 01:32 | |
| Kate Jenkins is running through the damning submissions the AHRC received when compiling the report. The backbone of the report is data from the 30,000 students who completed the sexual assault survey, but it also received 1,849 submissions – a record for the commission. | |
| The report found “unacceptable rates” of sexual assault and harassment at Australian universities, and particularly, “worryingly”, high rates at residential colleges and on-campus accommodation. | |
| She mentions a student who was harassed and kissed by a lecturer on a bus and was so scared she asked her sister to call her at the same time each day so she could avoid him; a student whose classmate flashed her his genitals in class; and a student who was groped by a classmate. | |
| At residential colleges, she said, sexual assault sometimes occurred on the very first day. She spoke of O-week camps, held for students from regional and remote areas to get to know the fellow students at their residential college before the semester began. | |
| A woman told us she was raped by a senior student leader who was running one of these camps. She later heard that he had previously raped another student at one of these camps and no action was a result. | |
| Jenkins said students said the colleges were aware of the culture that led to high rates of sexual assault and harassment. | |
| Perhaps most worryingly, there was a perception that colleges were aware of this behaviour and they condoned it. | |
| Updated | |
| at 1.35am BST | |
| 1.19am BST | |
| 01:19 | |
| The sex discrimination commissioner, Kate Jenkins, is running through the key findings. | |
| #ChangeTheCourse @Kate_Jenkins_ 1.6% of students sexually assaulted in a university setting in 2015 & 2016 pic.twitter.com/4nAwyNd7QN | |
| You can watch the livestream here or read the full report here. | |
| Updated | |
| at 1.34am BST | |
| 1.16am BST | |
| 01:16 | |
| Half of all university students sexually harassed in 2016 | |
| Naaman Zhou | |
| The report has been released. My colleague Naaman Zhou has a copy and has sent through this summary of key findings. | |
| 51% of all university students were sexually harassed on at least one occasion in 2016. | |
| 10% of female students were sexually assaulted in 2015 or 2016. This was three times the rate of male students (2.9%). Women were also twice as likely as men to be sexually harassed. | |
| A quarter (26%) of students were harassed in a university setting – which includes on campus, while travelling to or from university, or at an off-campus event organised by a university. | |
| Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander students and students with a disability were more likely to be sexually assaulted. | |
| The “vast majority” of students who were sexually assaulted or harassed did not make a formal complaint to their university. Students said they did not know where to make a report, or were unsure of how serious their experience was. | |
| Only 6% of students thought their university was doing enough to provide clear sexual harassment procedures. Only 4% thought they were doing enough for sexual assault procedures. | |
| The amount of on-campus sexual assaults was surprisingly low – only 1.6% across both 2015 and 2016. | |
| Updated | |
| at 1.34am BST | |
| 12.59am BST | 12.59am BST |
| 00:59 | 00:59 |
| Watch the livestream of the launch | Watch the livestream of the launch |
| Universities Australia is livestreaming the launch of the report on it website. You can watch it here. | |
| UA will announce a range of initiatives in response to the report, as part of the same launch. The bulk of those initiatives are embargoed to 10am but I can tell you two. | UA will announce a range of initiatives in response to the report, as part of the same launch. The bulk of those initiatives are embargoed to 10am but I can tell you two. |
| One: it will develop a “respectful relationships education program” for university students. | |
| Two: it will upgrade or extend first-responder training at universities to more frontline staff, so more staff are trained to respond to sexual assault. | |
| Updated | |
| at 1.33am BST | |
| 12.50am BST | 12.50am BST |
| 00:50 | 00:50 |
| Once the report is released we will start sharing reaction and comments from students, survivors and people working in this sector. | Once the report is released we will start sharing reaction and comments from students, survivors and people working in this sector. |
| If you want to share your story, email me at calla.wahlquist@theguardian.com. If you’re happy for me to share it here, please say so, otherwise all details will remain in confidence. | If you want to share your story, email me at calla.wahlquist@theguardian.com. If you’re happy for me to share it here, please say so, otherwise all details will remain in confidence. |
| Alternatively you can share your thoughts with me and everyone else on Twitter. I’m @callapilla. | Alternatively you can share your thoughts with me and everyone else on Twitter. I’m @callapilla. |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 12.51am BST | at 12.51am BST |
| 12.43am BST | 12.43am BST |
| 00:43 | 00:43 |
| Sophie Johnston, president of the National Union of Students, is one of those who received a briefing about the report yesterday. She told ABC news this morning that the results were “heartbreaking”. | Sophie Johnston, president of the National Union of Students, is one of those who received a briefing about the report yesterday. She told ABC news this morning that the results were “heartbreaking”. |
| ... after decades and decades of silence from so many victims, to actually hear the voices and see these stories is very confronting. | ... after decades and decades of silence from so many victims, to actually hear the voices and see these stories is very confronting. |
| You can read Johnston’s full comments here: | You can read Johnston’s full comments here: |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 1.32am BST | |
| 12.37am BST | 12.37am BST |
| 00:37 | 00:37 |
| Updated | |
| at 1.31am BST | |
| 12.28am BST | 12.28am BST |
| 00:28 | 00:28 |
| If you find today's media coverage distressing, support is available. pic.twitter.com/aZfNoLIvqE | If you find today's media coverage distressing, support is available. pic.twitter.com/aZfNoLIvqE |
| 12.22am BST | 12.22am BST |
| 00:22 | 00:22 |
| ‘Today belongs to you’ | ‘Today belongs to you’ |
| End Rape on Campus Australia launched a powerful campaign on Saturday featuring the voices of survivors of sexual assault. The campaign is called #BelieveSurvivors | End Rape on Campus Australia launched a powerful campaign on Saturday featuring the voices of survivors of sexual assault. The campaign is called #BelieveSurvivors |
| It posted a message of support on Facebook this morning urging them not to let universities take credit for the release of the AHRC report, which it says is the result of months of student campaigning. | It posted a message of support on Facebook this morning urging them not to let universities take credit for the release of the AHRC report, which it says is the result of months of student campaigning. |
| It says: | It says: |
| Whether you took part in the survey, made a submission, reported to your university, or not: we believe you. Whether you’ve told your story publicly or if you’ve never told anyone at all: we believe you. We stand with you. You are not alone. | Whether you took part in the survey, made a submission, reported to your university, or not: we believe you. Whether you’ve told your story publicly or if you’ve never told anyone at all: we believe you. We stand with you. You are not alone. |
| Irrespective of what you hear in the public statements, news coverage and media releases, today belongs to you. We didn’t arrive here because of the “bravery” of universities, or the determination of vice-chancellors. We got here because of the strength and determination of survivors and their allies. Today belongs to you. | Irrespective of what you hear in the public statements, news coverage and media releases, today belongs to you. We didn’t arrive here because of the “bravery” of universities, or the determination of vice-chancellors. We got here because of the strength and determination of survivors and their allies. Today belongs to you. |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 1.30am BST | |
| 12.15am BST | 12.15am BST |
| 00:15 | 00:15 |
| What can we expect? | What can we expect? |
| According to the briefing given to some stakeholders yesterday, the report will make a number of statistical findings before making nine recommendations. Eight of those recommendations will be aimed at universities themselves, while one will be aimed at non-university-owned residential colleges. | According to the briefing given to some stakeholders yesterday, the report will make a number of statistical findings before making nine recommendations. Eight of those recommendations will be aimed at universities themselves, while one will be aimed at non-university-owned residential colleges. |
| The key findings, Guardian Australia understands, are: | The key findings, Guardian Australia understands, are: |
| Women are sexually assaulted at higher rates than men | Women are sexually assaulted at higher rates than men |
| LGBTIQ people, particularly trans people, are sexually assaulted at a much higher rate than women | LGBTIQ people, particularly trans people, are sexually assaulted at a much higher rate than women |
| More than half of people who reported being sexually assaulted knew the perpetrator | More than half of people who reported being sexually assaulted knew the perpetrator |
| About two-thirds of perpetrators are male | About two-thirds of perpetrators are male |
| Post-grad students are more likely to have been sexually assaulted by a staff or faculty member | Post-grad students are more likely to have been sexually assaulted by a staff or faculty member |
| The majority of sexual assaults occur at residential campuses/on-campus accommodation, or at university parties | The majority of sexual assaults occur at residential campuses/on-campus accommodation, or at university parties |
| The majority of reported cases of sexual harassment occurred on public transport | The majority of reported cases of sexual harassment occurred on public transport |
| About three-quarters of university students had never witnessed sexual assault or harassment, and of those who had two-thirds took no action | About three-quarters of university students had never witnessed sexual assault or harassment, and of those who had two-thirds took no action |
| This is certainly not an exhaustive list of all the findings made by the Australian Human Rights Commission. It’s also not particularly surprising to anyone familiar with studies on the prevalence of sexual assault. As one stakeholder said: there’s nothing new here. | |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 1.30am BST | |
| 11.56pm BST | 11.56pm BST |
| 23:56 | 23:56 |
| Sexual assault on campus report to be released today | Sexual assault on campus report to be released today |
| Calla Wahlquist | Calla Wahlquist |
| The Australian Human Rights Commission will release its long-awaited report on sexual assault at university campuses at 10am. | The Australian Human Rights Commission will release its long-awaited report on sexual assault at university campuses at 10am. |
| The report is being launched in Sydney, at a joint event with Universities Australia, the peak body representing Australia’s 39 universities. All of those universities received a full copy of the report last week but no one else, including media, victims’ groups, or even people who were part of the working group, has been given a copy. | The report is being launched in Sydney, at a joint event with Universities Australia, the peak body representing Australia’s 39 universities. All of those universities received a full copy of the report last week but no one else, including media, victims’ groups, or even people who were part of the working group, has been given a copy. |
| Some stakeholders who represent victims’ groups received a one-hour briefing yesterday, and have told Guardian Australia they were not impressed. | Some stakeholders who represent victims’ groups received a one-hour briefing yesterday, and have told Guardian Australia they were not impressed. |
| We’ll get into those key findings and some of that criticism in a moment, but first, survivors of sexual assault should know that this blog will contain details and first-person accounts of sexual assault, and could be triggering. | We’ll get into those key findings and some of that criticism in a moment, but first, survivors of sexual assault should know that this blog will contain details and first-person accounts of sexual assault, and could be triggering. |
| Universities Australia has set up a hotline to help people affected by the release of the report. It is 1800 572 224. | Universities Australia has set up a hotline to help people affected by the release of the report. It is 1800 572 224. |
| Alternatively, you can call 1800 RESPECT, the sexual assault and family violence support line. That’s 1800 737 732, or online counselling here. | Alternatively, you can call 1800 RESPECT, the sexual assault and family violence support line. That’s 1800 737 732, or online counselling here. |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 12.45am BST | at 12.45am BST |