WHEN The Hunting Ground documentary was first screened at Australian university campuses, the most common reaction was one of shock, followed by immediate denial and trademark NIMBY-ism.

“Thank god things like that don’t happen here, in Australia.”

“That’s America. We don’t have fraternities or the same sporting culture they do.”

“If rape was really happening at Australian universities, wouldn’t we be hearing about it?”

So just how different is sexual assault within an Australian university context? And are we as immune as many would hope?

In one sense, it’s very difficult to tell. Unlike our American counterparts, who have been diligently conducting campus sexual assault surveys for decades, there is no equivalent prevalence data in Australia. This is because, up until very recently, Australian universities have outright refused to comply with such research attempts.

The lack of research — and the resulting data-gap — has meant that there has been very little impetus for change, and by global standards, Australian universities are considered to be lagging behind other countries, particularly in regards to our prevention and response initiatives.

“Universities [here] really haven’t taken on board their responsibilities around prevention of sexual violence and victimisation within their own community,” says Dr Michael Salter, who is a senior lecturer in criminology at Western Sydney University.

“They have been quite slow to take that up compared to say, the United States, where since at least the late 1980s there has been an expectation that the university will take quite active steps to prevent sexual assault. Australian universities just haven’t had that proactive response”.

And it shows.

Compared to some of the more sophisticated prevention initiatives found overseas (which tend to focus on consent and ethical bystander training), many Australian universities are still preaching “don’t get raped” rather than “don’t rape”.

Earlier this year, for example, the Australian Catholic University published dating tips for students such as “avoid secluded places until you know your date better; Do not give mixed messages [and] be sure that your words do not conflict with other signals such as eye contact, voice, tone, posture or gestures”.

Federation University has warned potential victims that “it is not safe to walk alone to your local telephone box at night” and Wollongong University urges students to “carry a personal alarm or be prepared to scream and shout if attacked”.

Worse still, last year Universities Australia (the peak body for universities) blew over $1 million on the Respect. Now. Always campaign which supposedly aims to prevent sexual assault at universities. The campaign featured a series of posters, with phrases such as “a group of guys took it too far, so here’s what I did … ” and “I felt unsafe around him, so here’s what I did ...”

At the University of Sydney, the posters were dismissed by students as “shallow”, “tokenistic” and “deeply unhelpful”, particularly since they tended to heap the onus of responsibility on victims and women to prevent and redress sexual assault, while failing to tackle the underlying, root causes of sexual violence.

Internationally, the campaign was also panned as a laughing stock.

(Universities Australia is still yet to release any information on who, exactly, designed the posters and what credentials they have — if any — regarding sexual assault prevention. It is not clear whether the campaign has been or will be evaluated.)

Professor Moira Carmody from Western Sydney University says that residential colleges are also failing to deliver effective and appropriate sexual assault prevention education.

In fact, only 35 of 214 residential colleges and halls have stated that they will run sexual assault prevention education in 2017 which aligns with best practice national guidelines, established by the National Association of Services Against Sexual Assault.

“It seems that a lot of universities are not applying their own standards of academic rigour when it comes to the sexual assault prevention programs they implement,” said Professor Carmody.

“This suggests they don’t understand the wide body of international research [on how to effectively deliver sexual assault prevention training] or they are not taking the issue seriously.”

LEGISLATIVE DIFFERENCES

Another significant area where Australian universities are lagging behind our US counterparts is in legislation. In the USA, the Clery Act obliges universities to publish their crime data, and Title IX threatens universities with financial penalties if they do not take action to address sexual violence or sexual harassment.

As The Hunting Ground shows, these legislative mechanisms have been invaluable in allowing students and survivors to hold their universities to account.

However, there is no such equivalent in Australia, and universities have been highly resistant to publish statistics about sexual violence in their communities. Last year, it took Channel 7 conducting the largest ever Freedom of Information investigation in Australian history, to compel the universities to release their sexual assault and harassment data. Even then, Monash University has stubbornly refused to comply with the FOI request and is yet to release the information to Channel 7.

Overall, the FOI investigation revealed that 575 cases of sexual assault and harassment were formally reported to universities in the past five years, resulting in only six expulsions.

COUNSELLING

A further area of serious concern is the counselling services at Australian universities. Almost uniformly around the country, they are understaffed, underfunded, and not adequately promoted to students.

While the International Association of Counselling Services recommends one counsellor for every 1000-1500 students, Australian universities have, on average, only one counsellor to every 4340 students. (Australian universities range from around one counsellor per 3000 students, to 1 counsellor per 9000 students).

Given that one in four young people aged 16-24 in Australia currently has a mental health disorder, these services are woefully insufficient.

Indeed, a recent audit of counselling services at all 39 Australian universities found that some sexual assault survivors have had to wait up to four weeks for a counselling appointment, while others are being turned away and refused help altogether on the basis that they are no longer enrolled, having dropped out of their degree due to trauma.

The audit also found that most university counselling services are only able to employ generalist counsellors, who do not possess the specific expertise required to respond to sexual assault.

One survivor who was assaulted a month ago by a fellow student from UNSW said that she still has not been able to receive specialised support.

“After the incident I had no idea where to go or who to contact ... As it was the weekend I was unable to contact anyone at UNSW, so I tried the 1800 RESPECT hotline. It was directed to a Queensland office and they didn’t know what to do with me so I hung up. I tried phoning Royal Prince Alfred hospital, but they said all services were in person not over the phone, so I [would have] to go in there to be tested and receive a medical certificate.

“I had no clue where to go to or who to contact in the first place as [I couldn’t locate any] information flyers or guidelines from the uni, and the information [that I found] either isn’t specific to sexual assault or is uncontactable.”

“It has [now] been over 3 weeks since my assault and I am yet to receive counselling from a sexual assault trained professional.”

The problem has become so serious that last month, End Rape On Campus (EROC) Australia called for the formation of a new 1800 hotline to help plug the gaps in time for the release of new research into sexual assault at universities, due out in August.

This week, EROC Australia has also implored all 39 Vice Chancellors to urgently implement trauma-specialist training for counselling staff, roster more counsellors on, and provide better support for student representatives and staff who are impacted by the spillover of disclosures they receive.

So, while there are some significant differences between American and Australian universities, including the professional sporting culture, the grim reality is that in many ways, we are trailing far behind.

How universities act now is critical. Either they can continue the predictable cycle of damage control and poorly-planned, largely symbolic initiatives, or they can take a sober look at the evidence and begin to put student safety first.

If you or someone you know has been impacted by sexual assault, resources and support services can be found at: www.endrapeoncampusau.org

Anna Hush is an ambassador for End Rape on Campus Australia, and was the 2016 Women’s Officer at the University of Sydney SRC. @_annahush

Nina Funnell co-authored the inaugural End Rape On Campus Australia Report, ‘Connecting the Dots’, and is a 2017 Walkley Award finalist for reporting on sexual assault at Australian universities. @ninafunnell