Creating a safe ANU campus
The ANU campus is a sprawling, beautiful place. But a beautiful place also needs to be a safe place. There is an ongoing discussion about how to protect and educate students and staff taking place, with the aim to create a holistic approach to safety.
ANU Reporter asked three members of the ANU community for their experiences and thoughts about safety on campus and in the Canberra area.
Trigger warning: This article contains information about sexual assault and/or violence that may be triggering to some readers. You can find a list of support services below.
Elise Horspool: ANU undergraduate student
Having the full support of ANU has made me so proud to be an ANU student.
University is already a somewhat stressful experience when things run smoothly, let alone when they don't.
When something horrific and unexpected happens mid-semester, it can be almost impossible to get back on track.
I remember each semester, I would have a perfectly timed meltdown either just before exams or when my major essays were due.
However this semester, that meltdown seemed irrelevant. I never thought I would be a victim of a crime. I took for granted my relatively smooth and common university experience.
I'd never needed special considerations, never needed extensions for assignments and I'd never needed to utilise the ANU Counselling Centre.
I am never-endingly grateful for all the support I have received from ANU.
When you are a victim of sexual assault, everything in life suddenly becomes complicated.
You aren't just studying for exams or getting up every morning for class; you're going to the police station to make a statement or going to a forensics lab to do digital face imaging.
You're reliving the moment over and over again. Life suddenly becomes just that little bit harder.
Having the full support of ANU has made me so proud to be an ANU student.
I feel empowered and that everything is going to be okay.
The ANU Counselling Centre has generously allowed me weekly emergency appointments and, without these, I honestly don't know where I would be now, thanks to the kindness and patience of my counsellor, Dora.
The support of the Chancelry, in particular the Pro Vice-Chancellor Richard Baker has been enormous and somewhat overwhelming.
I think ANU students need to know that these things can and do happen. They're out of our control. They're unexpected, hurtful and potentially damaging to your future.
But you have a choice to make something positive out of it and embrace the support and facilities that are available. You are not alone at ANU.
Loren Ovens: ANU Students’ Association Women’s Officer
In some cases survivors are left in the distressing circumstances of living with their perpetrator until the matter is resolved.
There is little disagreement that sexual assault on campus is an issue. Bolstered by its increasing prevalence in US media, Australian universities have begun to take heed of concerns that have existed for years.
In talking with other Women's Officers from across Australia this year, it is clear to me that ANU is at the forefront of leading change in supporting survivors of sexual assault.
However, it is still apparent that the way in which ANU deals with this issue requires improvement
Students I have supported who have been affected by this issue often have concerns with the transparency and clarity of ANU processes.
Rarely do they know who to raise a complaint with, which ANU policies are applicable to them and where they can be found.
For individuals living in the same residential hall as the accused perpetrator, these situations prove even more complex.
In some cases survivors are left in the distressing circumstances of living with their perpetrator until the matter is resolved.
Students also need clearer guidelines on the time that processes will take and information about what disciplinary standards may be applied to perpetrators in their case.
It is confronting, though necessary, to acknowledge that most assaults aren't perpetrated by someone late at night lurking in the bushes but by someone known to the victim.
The ANU community also has a role in ensuring a safe environment and fostering a culture where violent behaviour on any level is called out.
Laughing at rape jokes and dismissing concerns over unwanted sexual attention creates a culture where victims feel silenced, where survivors of sexual assault do not feel safe.
To create the culture envisioned by the ANU Women's Department's The Pledge campaign, which aims to change a victim-blaming culture, we need to call out anti-social behaviour when we see it and this means taking all forms of violence seriously.
Professor Richard Baker: ANU Pro Vice-Chancellor (Student Experience)
Bystander intervention approaches are important to develop to deal with the emerging issue of cyber bullying.
Everyone has the right to participate fully in community life without fear of unwanted sexual attention be it sexual harassment, assault or stalking.
With this in mind, as the Pro-Vice Chancellor (Student Experience), I am determined to do everything I can to make ANU a safe place for students and staff to live, work and learn.
Safety has both physical and non-physical dimensions. Verbal abuse is a form of violence, not only in the hurt it causes, but also in the way it normalises physical violence.
In the era of the Internet it is essential to note that the ANU "campus" is now more than a physical place.
It is a much broader cultural space that can be accessed anywhere there is Internet access. Hence freedom from cyber-bullying is a key aspect of safety and an area that ANU is actively working on.
Sadly, ANU is not exempt from wider societal forces of sexism, racism, homophobia and transphobia.
These and other forms of discrimination all too often in Australia have aggressive, and sometimes violent, expressions.
As Australia's leading university, it is imperative ANU uses its national leadership role to drive broader societal change around these issues.
A key step in addressing violence is addressing the systemic underlying forces of discrimination.
Hence ANU takes a holistic approach to safety that acknowledges the need for effective policy and procedures, reporting, public education and improved physical infrastructure.
I'm pleased to report back to the ANU community some steps we have put in place in this regard.
In 2014, ANU completed a review of policy and procedures for responding to allegations of sexual assault on campus. A Staff Protocol for responding to an allegation of recent sexual assault was developed.
A response to any allegation of sexual assault is treated with utmost care and confidentiality is respected at all times.
The response includes support being provided to all involved, including access to counselling from our professional student counselling team and external support groups like the Canberra Rape Crisis Centre.
All incidents are formally recorded, monitored and reported on. Online documents have also been developed to provide guidance to ANU students on how to support a fellow student who discloses to them an allegation of sexual assault or domestic violence.
Following the recruitment round of student leaders for 2015, a full day of training was held to prepare student leaders for events that they may be organising and managing. About 380 student leaders attended.
The training covered responding to unwanted sexual attention and bystander interventions strategies including a presentation from the Canberra Rape Crisis Centre.
Bystander intervention approaches are important to develop to deal with the emerging issue of cyber bullying. As I outlined in a recent email to all ANU students, bullying is totally unacceptable at ANU, whether it is face-to-face, via text or online.
Social media now forms an important part of most of our lives so it is vital that we recognise that all members of our community are entitled to be respected, whatever the context. Discrimination, harassment and bullying at ANU will not be tolerated under any circumstances.
We are trying to build a culture of support for individuals through empowering bystanders to act when they become aware of bullying.
This can also be done through confidential discussion with ANU support services but if you are comfortable about speaking up publicly to initiate a response or to join others objecting to bullying behaviour, please do so.
I would also like to applaud the work our student leaders have been doing on issues around safety on campus.
The ANU Students' Association (ANUSA) ran a Safety on Campus campaign from July to October 2014.
This campaign made great use of social media with the theme of 'Our campus: make it safe' and a range of awareness events including The Pledge campaign, which aimed to shift understandings of violence away from a victim-blaming culture and work to ensure a campus that is safe for all students.
This year, The Pledge campaign occurred in early August and was followed by a Sex and Consent Week, run by ANUSA, to create greater awareness around the issue of consent.
The University will assist ANUSA in evaluating its semester two activities to further improve our O-Week activities next year.
I am also in discussions with the ANUSA Women's Department and White Ribbon Australia about the idea of month long campaign at the beginning of first semester in 2016 around the issue of stopping violence against women.
There is always more we can do to ensure this is a safe and respectful community.
If you have any suggestions on what we can do to improve safety on campus please contact me.
