The wave of celebrity sexual harassment cases and the #MeToo campaign could force a change of the “misogynistic culture” at Australia’s universities, according to students.



Amid renewed reports about instances of hazing at orientation week at the University of Sydney, one first year student said media attention focused too closely on the excesses of the new academic term rather than cultures of bullying that continued throughout all terms.

The student, who did not wish to be named, said: “It’s quite concentrated this week and there’s a heap of media attention, but it’s the culture that needs to change, throughout the year. It is a misogynistic culture.

“Hazing this year, everyone is on pretty high alert. Hazing might not be a pretty big deal this year, but the culture doesn’t change overnight.

“I’ve had a good experience, but I also know that is obviously just a coincidence because of the time I’m coming in. Maybe it would have been different last year, or in years previously.

“I get the sense it’s sort of like that Times Up movement where you’re like: ‘Is it changing? Or is it just a little blip?’ I get the sense that everyone is talking about it, so it’ll be interesting to see.”

She said her college had been proactive in changing its culture after the university launched a review into misogyny within the colleges led by former sex discrimination commissioner Elizabeth Broderick.

“Before I started I knew about hazing. I knew that St John’s did it and I definitely would not have gone to John’s,” she said.

“I’ve been here a few days and it’s been good. I know that definitely post-Broderick, as they refer to it, hazing has been watered down. The Broderick report has been quite a prominent thing these past few days, and they mention it every day.”

Other students believed colleges had “watered down” hazing rituals in recent years and that media reports had “exaggerated” the problem.



One female student, at the co-educational Wesley College, said she had been convinced by the commitment shown by the college’s head, Lisa Sutherland, against hazing.

“To be completely honest, I was a little bit scared coming in,” she said. “I went to the interview with that in mind, thinking maybe there’s going to be some hazing, but [Sutherland] put my mind at ease during the interview saying they have come down really strictly on that.”

She said she had attended the college for one night and felt “properly safe”.

“They literally say all the time, this is if you want to do it. This is happening, if you want to ... We’ve only experienced one day, but they definitely had a big talk at the beginning about that.”

A male student at St Andrew’s college said his experience had been “completely good” over the one night he had spent there.

“I know people and they said [hazing] hadn’t happened – if it did ever happen – for like 25 years,” he said.

The student said his father had attended the same college and told him media reports had been exagerrated.

“I really don’t think a lot of it happens. I think some of it did used to happen once ... the same reporters have been reporting on this shit for like 20 years. They did hit pieces on UNSW as well. They literally do hit pieces on everything.”