NATIONAL UNIVERSITY STUDENT SURVEY ON SEXUAL ASSAULT AND SEXUAL HARASSMENT

DASHBOARD METADATA

Collection Type Survey

Geographic Coverage National

Frequency Ad-hoc

Data Availability Detailed publication/report publicly available

CONTACT DETAILS

Data custodian: Australian Human Rights Commission
Telephone: (02) 9284 9600 - National Information Service: 1300 656 419 - General enquiries and publications: 1300 369 711
Web Address: https://www.humanrights.gov.au/

DESCRIPTION

At the request of Australia’s 39 universities, the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) conducted a national, independent survey of university students. The 'National Report on Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment at Australian Universities' outlines the Commission’s findings on the prevalence and nature of sexual assault and sexual harassment at all Australian universities. It is based on analysis of data collected through a national survey and a separate submissions process conducted over the second half of 2016.

COLLECTION HISTORY

Collection commenced: 2016
Break in series: None
Other details:

COLLECTION METHODOLOGY

The survey was conducted online with currently enrolled university students, and measured their experiences of sexual assault and sexual harassment in 2015 and 2016.

SCOPE AND COVERAGE

The population of interest for the survey was the Australian university student population aged 18 years and over from 39 universities across Australia.

The survey focussed on sexual assault and sexual harassment which occurred in a university setting, including incidents which occurred on the university campus, while travelling to or from university, at an off-campus event organised by or endorsed by the university, at university employment, or, for technology-based harassment, where some or all of the perpetrators were students, teachers or other people associated with the university.

DEFINITION OF FAMILY AND DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

N/A

DEFINITION OF SEXUAL VIOLENCE

The survey asks respondents if they have experienced any of the following behaviours in a way that was unwelcome:

• Unwelcome touching, hugging, cornering or kissing;
• Inappropriate staring or leering that made you feel intimidated;
• Sexual gestures, indecent exposure or inappropriate display of the body;
• Sexually suggestive comments or jokes that made you feel offended;
• Sexually explicit pictures, posters or gifts that made you feel offended;
• Repeated or inappropriate invitations to go out on dates;
• Intrusive questions about your private life or physical appearance that made you feel offended;
• Inappropriate physical contact;
• Requests or pressure for sex, or other sexual acts;
• Other unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature (excluding online);
• Sexually explicit emails or SMS messages;
• Repeated or inappropriate advances on email, social networking websites or internet chat rooms;
• Inappropriate commentary, images or film of you distributed on some form of social media without your consent; and
• Other unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature that occurred online

DATA AVAILABILITY AND DISSEMINATION

Detailed report available online.

PUBLICATIONS

Data is published in a summary report:

Change The Course: National Report on Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment at Australian Universities (2017)

HOW THE STATISTICAL COLLECTION INFORMS NATIONAL DATA INITIATIVES

This section provides an overview of if/how the statistical collection informs or aligns with key initiatives relating to family, domestic, and sexual violence statistics. These assessments are not an ABS endorsement or indication of data quality, but are intended to assist readers in determining whether the data will meet their data needs.

Relationship to 'Defining the Data Challenge for Family, Domestic, and Sexual Violence'

The summary table below is designed to indicate whether the data source informs the six statistical elements outlined in Defining the Data Challenge for Family, Domestic and Sexual Violence, 2013 (cat. no. 4529.0).

FDV - Family and domestic violence data
SV - Sexual violence data

STATISTICAL ELEMENTS	DATA AVAILABILITY
Context	SV
Environmental factors	SV
Psycho-social factors	SV
Risk	SV
Community prevalence
Community incidence	SV
Incident/Experience	SV
Characteristics of incident	SV
Responses	SV
Formal responses	SV
Informal responses	SV
Impacts/Outcomes
Programs, Research, and Evaluation

Relationship to the 'Foundation for a National Data Collection and Reporting Framework for Family, Domestic, and Sexual Violence'

The three tables below provide an indication of which data items can be informed by the data source. The data items have been conceptually grouped into the key information units - Person, Event, and Transaction - as described in the Foundation for a National Data Collection and Reporting Framework for Family, Domestic, and, Sexual Violence, 2014 (cat. no. 4529.0.00.003).

PERSON

FDV - Family and domestic violence data
SV - Sexual violence data

DATA ITEMS	DATA AVAILABILITY
	Victim/Respondent	Perpetrator
Socio-demographic	SV	SV
Sex	SV	SV
Age	SV
Indigenous status	SV
Cultural and linguistic diversity	SV
Marital status
Disability status	SV
Employment status
Educational attainment	SV
Socioeconomic status
Mental health
Other	SV sexual orientation; campus; degree; academic discipline; living arrangements; domestic or international student	SV number of perpetrators

EVENT

FDV - Family and domestic violence data
SV - Sexual violence data

DATA ITEMS	DATA AVAILABILITY
Location	SV
Home/residential location	SV
Workplace/place of study	SV
Public transport	SV
At a place of entertainment or recreation	SV
Other public place	SV
Other
Relationship	SV
Current partner/spouse
Previous partner/spouse
Boyfriend/girlfriend/date
Parent
Child
Sibling
Other relative/family member
Other known person	SV fellow student; tutor/lecturer, non-academic university staff member; supervisor/boss; colleague; partner/family member
Stranger	SV
Other
Other characteristics	SV
Weapon use
Alcohol/other substance involved
Physical injuries sustained
Hospitalisation
Other	SV sexual assault and sexual harassment behaviours

TRANSACTION

FDV - Family and domestic violence data
SV - Sexual violence data

DATA ITEMS	DATA AVAILABILITY
Detection and prosecution	SV
Police	SV
Courts
Corrections
Other
Formal support	SV
Police	SV
Doctor/other health professional	SV
Counsellor/social worker/mental health professional	SV
Legal/financial service
Refuge/shelter/resource centre
Government housing/community services
Other	SV university student support services; satisfaction with university support or assistance services; reasons why didn't seek support or assistance from university; whether submitted a formal complaint to university; satisfaction with formal reporting system; reasons why didn't formally report or make a complaint
Informal support	SV
Friend/family member	SV
Pastoral care
Helpline	SV
Other	SV fellow student