Nina Dillon Britton was only 16 when she got a harsh lesson in gender discrimination and sexual harassment while competing against male students in a prestigious debating contest.

"My descriptor was, 'The chick with the tits'," she recalled. "There was one instance where I had to get on my knees to fill up my water bottle and the guys would say, 'I bet she's done that before'. Then you would have to go back in the room and argue your case in the competition. I felt like the smallest person in the world."

Now 19 and in the first year of an arts/law degree at the University of Sydney, the Drummoyne student believes her male peers relied on sexist remarks to gain a competitive edge.

"This was a group of nerdy little kids but the ones who wanted to get ahead knew that putting down young women was one way to do that," she said.