August 1st 2021: Broken Promises Report

CONTENT WARNING: this report contains multiple references to sexual assault, sexual harassment, sexism, abuse, institutional betrayal, and mentions of violence, particularly against marginalised groups.

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The National Report on Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment at Australian Universities (the “AHRC Report”) produced nine recommendations for universities across Australia to combat sexual assault and sexual harassment (SASH) in tertiary-education environments. The urgency of change was underscored by the incredibly high statistics of incidents being disclosed.

The ANU has since received dozens of recommendations across several reports. Many of these have been implemented to some degree; often late or with significant gaps in the eventual delivery. Others have been implemented and since reversed or diminished by inconsistency in upkeep. Others have been entirely ignored without any real accountability mechanism to hold the university to their promises.

The purpose of this report is not to provide a definitive list of every promise broken by the ANU in this space, but rather to provide an indication of the extent of the university’s failure to protect students and instigate an immediate change.

This report can be read as a timeline of progress on SASH issues (and lack thereof) at the ANU. The report is divided into years, with each year focusing on a different report or open letter along with follow-up reports being included alongside the original report, regardless of year of publication.