By the Numbers: A Look At the University of Adelaide's Sexual Assault Statistics from 2018
The University of Adelaide had 12 incidents of sexual assault and/or sexual harassment reported to the university throughout 2018, according to figures released in a June 2019 response to a Freedom of Information (FOI) request.
3 University of Adelaide staff members had their employment terminated, or resigned, after complaints were filed about their inappropriate behaviour in 2018. 2 of the incidents of sexual assault were reported to SA Police.
the statistics
12
the total number of sexual assault/sexual harassment/sexual misconduct complaints
made to the University of Adelaide in 2018.
Complaints of sexual assault: 4
Complaints of sexual harassment: 8
(According to comment from the University: “Of these, 3 complaints involved third parties with no connection to the University.”)
4
sexual assault/sexual harassment/sexual misconduct complaints were made to the University of Adelaide alleging a staff member as responsible in 2018.
5
sexual assault/sexual harassment/sexual misconduct complaints were made to the University of Adelaide alleging a student as responsible in 2018.
University Responses
3 of the 4 complaints of sexual harassment and/or sexual assault allegedly perpetrated by University of Adelaide staff members resulted in the termination of staff contracts.
Sexual Assault
A staff member alleged to have perpetrated sexual assault had their contract terminated by the University. According to the University, the allegations were investigated by the University of Adelaide’s Human Resources branch, and a report was made to South Australia Police.
Sexual Harassment
One University of Adelaide staff member resigned after an external investigator was appointed by the University to investigate the allegations of sexual harassment made against them.
Another staff member was provided with a letter of allegations made against them and had their position terminated by the Vice Chancellor Peter Rathjen.
One student perpetrator of sexual harassment was expelled from the University. After receiving a formal warning, the student’s repeated behaviours led to a referral to the University’s Student Misconduct Tribunal and a penalty of expulsion.
UNI of ADELAIDE’s RECORD
Research conducted in 2017 by the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) Change the Course report suggested that 0.8% percent of the University of Adelaide students surveyed stated they had been sexually assaulted on campus. This figure came in below the national average of 1.6 percent, but when this percentage is applied to the University’s current student population of 21,142 students, this would equate to 169 students potentially experiencing sexual assault on campus each year.
At least 1 in 4 (28%) University of Adelaide students responding to the same AHRC research survey stated they had been sexually harassed at university during 2015/16. This percentage applied to the current student population suggests 5919 students might be experiencing sexual harassment on University of Adelaide campuses each year.
Well over half (63%) of University of Adelaide respondents to the AHRC survey stated they knew nothing about, or knew very little about, where to go within the university to make a complaint regarding sexual assault.
WHAT DO THE STATS MEAN?
Sharna Bremner, the founder and director of End Rape of Campus Australia, said that while it is difficult to measure the University of Adelaide’s 2018 statistics against other universities, the figures are low enough to suggest members of the university community might feel discomfort in making reports.
“It's hard to say whether these statistics would be comparable to other universities, because different universities seem to have different definitions and methods of recording assault and harassment,” she said. “However, these numbers indicate that members of the university community still don't feel comfortable reporting sexual assault or harassment to the university. The AHRC survey showed that 0.8% of UofA's students were sexually assaulted in a university setting in 2015/2016, and 28% of UofA students reported experiencing sexual harassment at university in 2015/2016, so to receive just 12 reports in a year tells me that the university isn't doing nearly enough to ensure that their community feels safe and supported in coming forward.”
CHECK THE BOX
In their response to the FOI request, the University of Adelaide listed actions that were being taken to address sexual assault and sexual harassment on campus, including focus groups, staff and student training, the employment of a project officer for 6 months to implement a “Respect. Now. Always Action Plan”, improving the usability of a “Safer Campus Community” website, and sending out links to prompt undergraduate students to enrol in a “Consent Matters” online course.
In the wake of the AHRC survey, several other Australian universities also introduced the online Consent Matters course, despite a lack of evaluation to prove its effectiveness. Bremner said End Rape on Campus Australia is “not aware of the Consent Matters module being fully evaluated, so we're unsure of its level of effectiveness.”
Bremner said many of the actions listed by the University of Adelaide were unlikely to address the ongoing problems of sexual assault and sexual harassment on campus. “We know that things like focus groups, roundtables and meetings won't address the problems of sexual assault and harassment on campus, and we also know that for training to be successful, it needs to be face-to-face, delivered by experts, and be conducted on an ongoing basis - one-off programs are likely to be entirely ineffective. We would like to see more initiatives at unis across the country that address the root causes of sexual assault and harassment, instead of just more "check box exercises".
CREATING CHANGE (OR NOT)
Bremner said that the Univeristy of Adelaide’s response to sexual assault and sexual harassment within their community has been slow and insufficient.
“While the university has taken some steps in their response to addressing sexual assault and harassment, it's been our experience that those steps have been small, and slow. We know that there was an increase in incidents of sexual harassment when the university allowed the Adelaide Fringe's Royal Croquet Club to operate on university grounds. The university was slow to respond to revelations of sexual assault, harassment and hazing at St Mark's College, initially attempting to distance themselves from the college all together, and only offering a response of any kind after pressure from students. Like other universities across the country, the University of Adelaide has been too slow to respond. We don't need more committees and focus groups. We need action. And we need it now, not in another two years, when more reviews and reports have been released.”
NewsCorp reported in The Advertiser on Sunday 22 September that the Royal Croquet Club would return to the University of Adelaide’s North Terrace campus in 2020.
The University of Adelaide’s complete response to the Freedom of Information application can be found on the Right to Know website here.