USYD Councillors Caught On Camera Ripping Up Major Report on Sexual Violence in Colleges
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Student councillors-elect at the University of Sydney have made headlines for tearing up copies of a major report on sexual violence at residential colleges, called the Red Zone Report, during a meeting on 30 October.
Two incoming student representatives ripped up the 2018 Red Zone Report whilst some of their fellow electees laughed. Another threw pieces of the torn-up paper at other incoming councillors who had responded by heckling the offending contingent.
The involved students are understood to be members of the Young Liberals and the university’s Conservative Club.
Members of the contingent also yelled out denouncements of the report, one remarking “No one cares.” Two members of the Liberal contingent did not participate in the incident.
The incident was captured on video – it was live-streamed in its entirety by USYD’s student newspaper, Honi Soit. The attendees – including the contingent who ripped up and threw the report – were aware the meeting was being recorded.
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One of the councillors-elect, who laughed as the report was ripped up, later dismissed it as outdated, saying that “statistically women are less likely to be raped at a college campus than in the real world.”
Some of the students involved were elected on a ticket representing college students.
What is the Red Zone Report?
The Red Zone Report was released by advocacy group End Rape on Campus Australia.
The report – which contains graphic photos, screenshots and police reports – is co-authored by Walkley Award-winning investigative journalist, Nina Funnell, and End Rape on Campus Ambassador, Anna Hush. It draws together information obtained through freedom of information requests, student interviews, police reports, and academic research.
The report also includes a timeline charting 90 years of media reports of scandals which have plagued the USyd colleges, including abusive, coercive and humiliating rituals dating back to at least the 1930’s.
‘A slap in the face to survivors’: Responses to USYD Red Zone incident
New South Wales Liberal leader Mark Speakman told ABC News that he asked the party’s state director to “urgently investigate” the incident.
“Any mocking of a report about disgusting behaviour is in itself disgusting behaviour,” Speakman said.
Red Zone Report co-author Nina Funnell wrote on Twitter that the councillors’ actions were “a slap in the face to the survivors [of hazing and sexual violence] as well as families of those who didn’t make it.”
Record & were named in this report.
So too, were the grieving families of dead children, who I spoke to when researching this 200 page work.
To laugh in their faces is not just callous, it’s telling.
It’s not a slap it the face to us as the authors, it’s a slap in the face
— Nina Funnell, Journalist & Survivor advocate🎗️ (@ninafunnell) October 30, 2024
To the survivors as well the families of those who didn’t make it.
Do better. @sharnatweets pic.twitter.com/Spu0zj8IBr
— Nina Funnell, Journalist & Survivor advocate🎗️ (@ninafunnell) October 30, 2024
In a statement reported by student newspaper Honi Soit, University of Sydney Deputy-Vice Chancellor (Education) Joanne Wright reminded student councillors of “their obligation to manage their meetings with sensitivity and respect” and said the university takes action when it determines this obligation to be breached.
“Any behaviour that mocks victim survivors or ignores the impact of trauma resulting from sexual misconduct is absolutely unacceptable and we are initiating an immediate inquiry,” said Wright.
President-elect of the university’s Students’ Representative Council Angus Fisher put out a statement strongly condemning the actions. “What we witnessed last night was the worst of so called ‘student representatives’; it was frankly inhuman,” Fisher remarked.
Fisher stated that 246 reports of sexual misconduct were made to the university last year, double the 2022 figure.
“I hope that the individuals involved deeply reflect and regret their behaviour.”
Recent hazing incidents at USYD affiliated colleges
Earlier this month, six students were expelled and 21 were suspended following a hazing incident at the University of Sydney-affiliated St. Paul’s College which involved acts of sexual degradation and humiliation.
The number suspended or expelled added up to nearly ten percent of the college’s undergraduate population.
Colleges affiliated with the University of Sydney have faced criticism for elitism, hazing and misogyny, extending to calls for their abolition. Supporters of the colleges point to reforms that have been made in the past few years.
Among these reforms are moves in recent years by previously male-exclusive colleges to welcome women.
If you or someone you know is experiencing sexual abuse or harassment, or family violence, there is support available. You can contact:
- National Sexual Assault, Domestic Violence Counselling Service 24-hour helpline 1800 RESPECT on 1800 737 732
- 24-hour Emergency Accommodation helpline on 1800 800 588
- National Violence and Abuse Trauma Counselling and Recovery Service on 1800 FULLSTOP (1800 385 578)
- Rainbow Sexual, Domestic and Family Violence Helpline on 1800 497 212 (This is a specific service for the LGBTIQA+ community)
- If it’s an an emergency and you need immediate help, call 000.
