Last Monday (1 August), on the fifth anniversary of the 2017 National Student Safety Survey (NSSS) on sexual assault and sexual harassment, students gathered once more, sadly with new survivors in the crowd, demanding that ANU ‘Follow Through.’
On Wednesday 30 March 2022, over 400 ANU students and staff members gathered in the rain to vote on a list of demands.
This was in response to the shocking results of the 2022 NSSS on sexual assault and sexual harassment, which showed little to no progress since the 2017 results exposed ANU as the worst university in the country for incidents of sexual harassment, and second worst for sexual assault.
All motions passed unanimously that evening. What followed was hundreds of students marching up the hill, to leave blood-coloured flowers on the Chancellery’s doorstep.
“Our hope is that by the time these flowers wither and die, our demands will have been met,” said ANU Women’s Officer, Avan Daruwalla.
“Since that motion was passed, we’ve seen little to no movement in the space,” said Avan on Monday, addressing many of the same faces from months prior.
“In fact, regular meetings have been cancelled, communication has been minimal.
“Whilst we did finally receive a response to our previous protest (Broken Promises, held on 2 August 2021), it failed to address the majority of issues and inaccurately represented a lack of progress.”
On 26 July, ANU released an update stating, “Since the release of the Student and Safety Wellbeing Plan in March, ANU has consulted with over 200 stakeholders, including students, to gather feedback and input for the full action plan”.
“Of these 200 stakeholders, not a single student I have spoken to has been consulted,” said Avan. In response to lack of student consultation from the university, Avan wrote the ‘Follow Through ANU’ report.
“If the ANU will not consult the students on what they would need in order for our community to be safer, the information is now ready and available.”
The ANU Women’s Officer held 19 consultations with the student leaders and representatives of each residential hall, ANU Student Association departments, and other ANU communities, with additional submissions made online by individual students.
“If a collective of students can come together to support one another and make change happen, then I refuse to believe that time, funding, or capacity are real constraints for this university,” said Avan.
“I fear that my time in this role has left me a less optimistic person; we have seen promises broken, responses that are too little and too late, and now we have had to take matters into our own hands.”
Once more, students were joined by members of staff protesting for their safety on campus, including ANUSA’s Operations Manager since 2010, Eleanor Boyle, whose speech was read out by Ben Pope.
Ms Boyle reflected on the promises made by Vice Chancellor, Brian Schmidt in July 2017 (six years ago) to “not cease until sexual assault and sexual harassment stops happening in our community”.
“Six years, let that sink in. Six years is long enough to complete an undergraduate degree and a master’s degree at this university. To be able to become an ANU alumnus and a potential donor, where you will be treated as a valued member of the ANU community.
“It’s time to start treating current ANU students as valued and respected members of this community,” said Ms Boyle.
“If you don’t, we’ll be here again, and again, and again, for as long as it takes for you to follow through on that pledge and commit to protecting the students, the people you’re supposed to be here for.”
ANUSA Vice President Chido Nyakuengama said, “Every single year, more and more survivors are made at ANU, and more and more perpetrators are allowed to be here. They’re allowed to be a part of our community. They’re allowed to graduate. They’re allowed to stay living in residential halls.”
The Follow Through ANU report was made by student associations, through unpaid labour on top of their academic responsibilities. Likewise, student leaders like Avan field tens of disclosures every year.
“Why does it have to be the students?” Chido asked of the crowd. “Why does it have to be students, who are unpaid, who are not professionals? [Why does it have to be] children? 17-year-olds are receiving disclosures on our campus.
“Why is it our responsibility to make such a stink every single year and then still not be heard?… No one should have to take disclosures from their friends.”
At 2.42pm on Monday, the students marched to the chancellery en masse, with Avan at the head delivering the Follow Through report by hand. When they were once again not met, the students lay down their signs on the building’s doorstep.
Among them, first year student at ANU, Bridget, who is only 19 years old. “I’ve experienced sexual assault and sexual harassment. There needs to be systematic change for there to be any action done for survivors.”
To the Vice Chancellor, she has one message, shared by hundreds of peers: “Listen to the students, not the funders.”
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