The number of reports of sexual assault or harassment at the Australian National University (ANU) increased by almost 50 per cent last year, a new report has found.
The ANU's Sexual Misconduct Disclosure form was introduced across the campus in 2019 as a part of the university's Sexual Violence Prevention Strategy.
That came two years after a damning Human Rights Commission report found nearly 40 per cent of ANU students had been sexually harassed in a 12-month period.
The Human Rights Commission found the reported rates of sexual assaults on campus at the ANU were also more than double the national average, with the independent findings prompting years of student protests and individuals deciding to share harrowing tales.
Yesterday, the ANU released a report revealing the number of sexual misconduct disclosures that had been made using the online tool between October 2019 and September 2021.
Over the two-year period, the number of victim-survivors, witnesses or support services that made disclosures to the university jumped from 250 in the first year to 366 the next.
The ANU cited increased awareness of the online form and university processes as the reason for the jump, rather than a higher prevalence of assaults or harassment.
The data from the reporting tool also revealed that half of the incidents disclosed were alleged to have occurred at on-campus accommodation, with undergraduate female students making up the vast majority of victim-survivors and male undergraduates accounting for most of the alleged perpetrators.
The ANU held up the report as evidence that it has been swinging into action when formal reports, which are not necessarily made through the disclosure tool, occur.
But to some victim-survivors, the ANU's action on sexual misconduct is "too little, too late".
'The uni just turns a blind eye towards survivors'
A current student and victim-survivor, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, described the ANU's response to her disclosures as "institutional betrayal".
The victim-survivor said although the ANU's sexual misconduct disclosure tool was a welcome response to the Human Rights Commission report, it was flawed in its design.
"There are 66 questions that you have to fill out," she said.
The ANU student said while what the university was trying to do was a positive step forward, more needed to be done to offer support to victim-survivors on campus.
"I do have to commend ANU for trying to be more transparent throughout the years, but it's not good enough, unfortunately, and we are just constantly having to deal with it within survivor groups ourselves and we are reliving that trauma," she said.
"We just need the ANU to keep trying and keep doing better because it's just not enough.
Most identified perpetrators expelled
Within the ANU's report were demonstrations of actions already taken by the university since the implementation of the reporting tool.
For example, all reports that went to the University Registrar's Office in 2021 triggered reviews and inquiries that uncovered misconduct.
The ANU said most of those perpetrators were expelled from the university.
ANU deputy vice-chancellor Ian Anderson described the review as an important part of the university's ongoing response to sexual violence on campus.
Mr Anderson said the university released the report as a sign of accountability for the events on campus, and to show that it was committed to building trust with students and encouraging them to report sexual misconduct.
"We meet with students every two weeks to discuss our next steps, to discuss how we are strengthening our service response, and to provide that trust that is necessary for students to also come forward and undertake a review under our discipline rule."
Canberra Rape Crisis Centre pulls support worker from ANU
As part of the ANU's sexual violence prevention strategy, a Canberra Rape Crisis Centre (CRCC) support worker was embedded on campus, but the organisation said the arrangement had not worked out.
Chief executive of the organisation Chrystina Stanford said the service could not run effectively while at the ANU because CRCC needed to work closely with police and medical practitioners — something that was not possible on-campus.
"So, the plan was to move the service close by and have that option still available for students."
But Ms Stanford welcomed the ANU's implementation of a disclosure tool, saying it was important for victim-survivors to have a range of options to help "regain their power."
