UTAS Students’ Union Launches Anti-Sexual Harassment And Assault Campaign

The Tasmania University Union today launched a new campaign to combat the prevalence of sexual harassment and assault at the University of Tasmania. The campaign called #NeverOK, will centre around an awareness building initiatives calling on staff, students and members of the community to sign a pledge to combat sexual harassment at the University. The campaign will call on the University of Tasmania to change its practices into the induction and orientation of new students, to alert them of the responsibility they have to each other, and of the processes and policies around the areas of sexual harassment and assault.

President of the Tasmania University Union Clark Cooley said today “This campaign will help build a stronger message of the problem of sexual harassment and assault on campus, and assist in the stamping out of these unwanted acts on students”

“We have a duty to respond to calls for more action against sexual harassment and assault on campus, this includes calling upon the university to better educate new students about the polices and practices we have to minimise the counts of sexual harassment and assault at UTAS. As students prepare to return to university, particularly students joining us for the first time, it is imperative that they all be aware of the minimum acceptable standards for behaviour.

“It should be clear to every staff member, student and those in the community that the University has a zero torrence policy on sexual assault and sexual harassment.”

“Furthermore, the launch of this campaign coincides with United Nations International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation. FGM is a horrific form of sexual assault which stays with a woman throughout her entire life, but if often overlooked.”

Jessica Robinson, a UTAS Bachelor of Education student from Launceston said about the campaign “Sexual Assault on women is common issue across university campus’, the problem here is that there really isn’t enough understanding of what a person should do about it. ”

Miss Robinson continued “Most students I know don’t report what happens to them because they don’t know where to start on getting help, so they simply try to forget their experiences”

You can sign the pledge and find out more information about the campaign at: tuu.com.au/neverok/

The Tasmania University Union (TUU) was founded in 1899 as the state-wide representative body for all students of the University of Tasmania. The TUU seeks to advance the rights and protect the interests of students by ensuring the their voices are heard by parliamentarians, policy makers, university leadership and the wider community.
Clark Cooley President Tasmania University Union Council Member University of Tasmania