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In a national first, an independent watchdog for gender-based violence on Australian campuses was approved by education ministers on Friday.
As part of the Action Plan Addressing Gender-based Violence in Higher Education, an ombudsman will be established to oversee sexual harassment and assault complaints at universities.
In the latest National Student Safety Survey, it was found that one in six Australians had been sexually harassed at university while one in twenty had been sexually assaulted.
Having a national ombudsman was a key point in the plan put together by Our Watch chief executive, Patty Kinnersly. Commissioned by the federal government to address student safety concerns, the plan was delivered to education ministers in November and approved on Friday.
If the plan is implemented, students will be able to escalate complaints about sexual harassment and assault. The ombudsman would also have special powers to hold universities accountable and see whether their response to the complainant was reasonable, or if more steps would need to be taken.
The change comes after dozens of university groups and individuals called on the federal government to do more to address on-campus sexual violence.
The National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU), which informed the action plan, have welcomed its release.
National President Dr Alison Barnes said, “For years our union has been saying enough is enough, while university leaders have downplayed, ignored or even denied there was a problem in their institutions.”
“Universities must give this national plan their unqualified support if they are serious about ending sexual harassment and violence towards staff.”
Federal Education Minister Jason Clare said the ombudsman would be an important step forward in addressing sexual violence at Australia universities.
“Not enough has been done to tackle sexual violence in our universities and for too long students haven’t been heard,” he said.
“That now changes.”
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