Gaps in addressing sexual harassment in Indo-Pacific universities

There are growing concerns regarding the prevalence and challenges of sexual harassment in higher education settings across the Indo-Pacific.

Sexual harassment involves any unwelcome and/or threatening sexual conduct that can result in a person feeling intimidated, offended or humiliated.

In higher education settings, this may include sending sexual comments to a student using their university contact details, or making an unwelcome sexual advance at a professional event where students and/or staff are present in a university capacity.

In Australia, the most recent National Student Safety (NSS) survey found that one in six students had experienced sexual harassment since starting university, and one in 12 had experienced it within the previous 12 months.

In Indonesia, a survey of 398 female students in West Java found more than 68% had experienced sexual harassment at university. A similar study of university students in Thailand found about 85% had been subjected to harassment.

Read more: What needs to happen to end gender-based violence at universities

While victimisation rates vary, and in some countries aren’t recorded (for example, Fiji), a systematic review across low and middle-income countries found higher rates of sexual harassment in higher education institutions than other settings, including the workplace.

This pattern seems to align with the higher prevalence of sexual violence among the 15 to 25-year age group across countries in population-based surveys – the same age group predominantly in higher education.

Among victimisation studies, gendered, intersectional patterns exist with high rates of sexual harassment experienced by women, non-binary, transgender and Indigenous peoples. Research also reports long-term impacts on physical and mental health, wellbeing, academic performance, student retention, and course completion.

Best-practice knowledge lagging

Sexual harassment in higher education is an actionable problem, yet we lack knowledge of best practice to effectively prevent and respond to it.

And across the Indo-Pacific, sexual harassment in higher education is not consistently recognised in law or policy, which can reduce the seriousness with which such violence is treated, and create inconsistencies in how universities respond.

A new report from the Centre of Excellence for the Elimination of Violence against Women (CEVAW) sought to understand how experiences of sexual harassment in higher education settings are understood, addressed and responded to in 28 Indo-Pacific countries.

This included considering whether any national government policy (laws) or special procedures exist for addressing sexual harassment in higher education settings, as well as the role of governments in regulating/supporting responses within universities. The report also examines the disconnect between policy and practice, drawing on interviews with stakeholders from six of the 28 countries.

Evidence of policy and practice responses

Countries in the Indo-Pacific region have diverse legal and policy systems, cultural traditions, and wide-ranging perspectives on sexuality and gender relations, which results in different approaches to the problem of sexual harassment in higher education settings, and the institutional mechanisms to address it.

The report found only three of the 28 countries had national policies specifically addressing sexual harassment in higher education (Australia, Indonesia, Philippines), and four had special procedures for responding to sexual harassment in higher education (Australia, Indonesia, New Zealand, Philippines).

Although most countries did not have national policies, 10 had laws on sexual harassment, which would capture incidents in higher education settings. A further six countries had laws on workplace sexual harassment, which means staff should have some protections, but not students.

This leaves 12 countries in the study without any form of national sexual harassment law or policy.

Most universities within the countries (21 of 28) had institutional policies in place that in some way addressed or defined sexual harassment, but the depth and extent to which these policies captured such behaviours and appropriately responded to them varied greatly.

For example, many did not capture technology-facilitated forms of sexual harassment, despite research across the region consistently finding that young women experience this violence at disproportionately high rates.

Effective implementation

The effective implementation of institutional policies and processes also varied, with several implementation failures identified in the report relating to the reporting and investigation processes, the types and amount of support provided to victim-survivors, as well as the availability of sexual consent training for students and staff.

Key here was the potential reputational damage to the institution from reports of sexual harassment, which resulted in some hesitancy to record incidents or conduct investigations.

A lack of clear information on how to report sexual harassment to higher education institutions, and what happens during the investigation process, was also commonly reported.

While there were some institutions clearly developing effective programs, processes and reporting procedures, there remains much to be learnt and shared in the Indo-Pacific to improve the prevention of, and responses to, sexual harassment in higher education.

Read more: Gendered violence in schools: Urgent need for prevention and intervention amid rising hostilities

Higher education settings are a formative part of many young people’s social, cultural and career development. This environment therefore warrants increasing action from within higher education institutions and by governments to prevent, reduce and provide appropriate response.

The Australian government’s Action Plan Addressing Gender-Based Violence in Higher Education (2024) is a step in the right direction since it aims to improve transparency, prevention and responses to gender-based violence, including sexual harassment in higher education.

Building the body of regional knowledge and research on sexual harassment in higher education, and what works effectively to address it, is critical. Enhancing mutual learning across institutions and countries about how to combat sexual harassment can help close the law and policy gap, and the current disconnect between well-intentioned policy and poor implementation in practice.

This article was co-authored with Griffith University’s Professor Sara E. Davies and Julie Ballangarry.