On August 1st, 2019, the ANUSA Women’s Department, alongside PARSA and student leaders, held a sit-in outside University House to mark two years since the release of the Change the Course report. The protest called out the ANU’s continued inaction on sexual assault and sexual harassment (SASH), demanding accountability, transparency, and meaningful reform. The action coincided with the release of the Women’s Department’s updated report, “One Step Forward, Two Steps Back,” which renewed 15 key student demands,
including pre-arrival consent training and the creation of an ANU SASH taskforce. The report built on prior consultation and urged the University to address ongoing barriers to support, reporting, and prevention.
Despite the urgency of the protest, ANU leadership’s response was dismissive. Protestors were ignored by members of the executive exiting from side doors during Foundation Day events, and Vice-Chancellor Brian Schmidt spoke to students for less than a minute. This response, paired with poor communication and the slow
pace of reform, left students feeling ignored and disillusioned. The Respectful Relationships Working Group, meant to lead institutional reform, had only met once in eight months, fuelling concerns that the ANU was not taking student voices or safety seriously.
ANU Women's Department 