More than 90 per cent of students sexually harassed on campus at the University of Canberra did not report it to the institution, a review by former sex discrimination commissioner Elizabeth Broderick has found.
Student confusion about how to report sexual misconduct to the university was a major theme in the review, which was conducted at the request of the university.
Overall, 93 per cent of students who had been sexually harassed did not report it to the university. The most common reason why was students did not believe it was serious enough.
But the report also found confusion among staff and students about how to report sexual misconduct, with 61 per cent of students saying they knew nothing or very little about how to make a complaint.
The data was taken from the Human Rights Commission survey of university students across Australia, which covered on-campus sexual assault between 2015 and 2016.
Overall the survey found 26 per cent of UC students who completed the survey had experienced sexual harassment on campus or while travelling to or from campus.
The rate of sexual assault on campus at UC was 1.1 per cent, less than the national average of 1.6 per cent.
However the rate of sexual assault among international students was 2.4 per cent.
One of 39 recommendations made in the report was for the university to implement a single, survivor-focused reporting system.
University of Canberra vice-chancellor Deep Saini said the university had accepted all of Ms Broderick's recommendations.
"We asked her to give us the way forward, and she's given us the way forward and we've decided to totally walk on it," he said.
"There are gaps in our system for reporting … she's recommending that we have one-stop reporting, and we are moving immediately to implement that.
"Overall Liz tells us that we're starting from a pretty high base … we're not happy with that. We want to go as far as we can."
'Boys in packs' reported among staff
Among the review's other recommendations were the adoption of an online consent training course as compulsory, and face-to-face sexual ethics training for all first-year students.
It also collected evidence from staff about culture on a faculty level.
"[I have witnessed] … senior male staff, being absolutely horrible to the female staff," one respondent said.
"In at least once instance reducing a very talented, conscientious, well-regarded female person to tears."
Another staff member said there was "great concern among the women in [my faculty] of the level of bullying and sexism by the male staff. It's like boys in packs."
Concerns over students on work placement
The University of Canberra Student Representative Council (UCSRC) released a statement commending the university for commissioning the report.
"The UCSRC believes that the university has the responsibility to create a safe space for reporting sexual harassment and assault and ensuring that students are aware of how to report and what support resources are available," the statement said.
"Whilst we are disappointed that a reporting tool has not existed in the past, we are hopeful that this is rectified as a matter of priority."
It also raised concerns about heightened levels of harassment and assault for LGBTI and Indigenous students, and the vulnerability of students on work placement.
But Professor Saini said there were limits to what the university could do in that space.
"That's probably the most complex area, because we have control on what happens on this campus, we don't have control on what happens outside," he said.
