Earlier today, a harrowing report highlighted the alarming rates of sexual assault and harassment on Australian university campuses.
The ‘Change The Course’ survey, examined 39 universities across the country, found that more than half of university students were sexually harassed at least once in 2016.
More than half of university students who then had to continue their studies alongside their perpetrator.
Tonight on The Project, student Emma Hunt told her story.
In her first year of uni, Emma was raped by another first year while at a party.
“The first few months I completely withdrew and didn’t think about anything,” Emma told host Carrie Bickmore.
“But as time went on, I found it extremely hard. I didn’t go to uni, didn’t finish my assignments, wasn’t eating properly, withdrew socially. It really had an impact,” she continued.
Carrie revealed that both the police and the university were involved with Emma’s case, asking whether she felt satisfied with the process.
“Yes and no,” she answered. “I found I had no idea where to go to ask for help at my university and once I did they offered to help me go to the police or find counselling but they didn’t offer solutions to make me feel more safe on campus.”
She then said she wasn’t surprised by the statistics today’s survey showed, “but I was still quite heartbroken by some of the responses I saw in there regarding not reporting to police or to the university.”
“If there’s something that really angered me it was that I was made to feel alone by some people at my university,” she continued.
“Approaching them and asking for them to help me feel safe going to classes and navigating the campus and being told that there was nothing they could do, made me feel that I wasn’t believed and that my right to an education was just as important as my perpetrators.”
You can see some of the powerful messages on the End Rape On Campus’s page.
You can contact the national university support line: 1800 572 224(until November 30, 2017), call 1800 RESPECT: 1800 737 732 or speak to a Lifeline operator on 131 114.
You can find more information on support services here.
