Respect. Now. Always.

Respect. Now. Always is a campaign was developed in 2016 by Universities Australia to enhance safety and support in Australian universities. The University of Tasmania is committed to being a place where all members of our community feel safe, secure and respected.

We want to ensure zero instances of sexual assault and sexual harassment at our University, with a zero tolerance approach.

Our approach towards sexual assault and sexual harassment is:

• Zero tolerance – sexual assault and sexual harassment is never okay and will not be tolerated
• Victim/survivor centric – where people feel empowered to make the best choices for themselves and choose their own pathway forward
• Trauma-informed – sensitive to understanding and responding to sexual assault and sexual harassment matters in accordance with principles of trauma informed practice
• Timely and confidential – responses to sexual assault and sexual harassment that are efficient and prioritise confidentiality
• Not time restricted – all matters will be supported, including matters that are historical (in the past) or current
• Collaborative and supportive – community members can seek information and support about sexual assault and sexual harassment from our Wellbeing Officer
• Preventative – we encourage bystander intervention to reduce occurrences of sexual assault and sexual harassment (where safe to do so)

SaFCU’s role in sexual assault and sexual harassment:

• Increasing community awareness of bystander intervention
• Being a participant in the National Redress Scheme
• Reviewing the contribution of Behaviour Contact Officers (BCOs) and how we work with university staff
• Take proactive action to support and protect community members by making referrals to external agencies, where appropriate
• Inform people on matters relating to sexual assault and sexual harassment
• Develop and deliver training and educative material

How we are creating a safe and fair community

In recent years, we have:

• Established a central unit – the Safe and Fair Community Unit – which is experienced in responding to reports of sexual violence. This has included the recruitment of skilled investigators.
• Increased the number of counselling staff for students and introduced an after-hours crisis service.
• Rolled out staff and student training initiatives which address consent, gender violence and trauma-informed responses.
• Implemented an online reporting tool and case management system for managing reports of sexual assault and sexual harassment, and other forms of inappropriate behaviour.
• Established guidelines for first responders of disclosures of sexual violence.
• Implemented a new policy framework, which included the development of a new student conduct procedure.

What we are working on moving forward:

• Providing greater support to people affected by sexual misconduct with our Wellbeing Officer, which is a new role aimed at providing best practice care
• Further collaboration with colleagues on best practice approaches.
• Provide more extensive training at the University, including to Student Living.
• Creating more processes and documentation to enhance our response to sexual misconduct.
• Providing further information and education materials to the University community about sexual misconduct.

Improving how we prevent and respond to incidents of sexual assault and sexual harassment and create a safer community is a vital task. It remains a focus and you can follow our progress below.