Nicola Henry, La Trobe University
A number of scathing reports have brought much needed attention to the issue of inappropriate polices and practices for responding to student reports of rape, attempted rape and sexual assault at Australian universities.
In a 2017 report to the Australian Human Rights Commission, the advocacy group, End Rape on Campus (EROC) Australia, points to the high numbers of sexual assaults occurring against Australian university students – both on and off campus.
Although we do not currently have reliable statistics on the victimisation rates of sexual violence in Australian universities, figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) more broadly report that 1 in 5 women have experienced sexual violence since the age of 15, compared to 1 in 22 men.
ABS and police data show that women aged 16 to 24 are at most risk of sexual violence, most commonly at the hands of a known man.