The University of Wollongong’s Safe and Respectful Community service was established after a damning inquiry into on-campus sexual assaults in 2017. Photo: Paul Jones.
The community has slammed a draft proposal to change the University of Wollongong’s sexual assault support service – but no-one can say what the proposed changes actually are.
The university denies any cuts will be made to the service, however the Wollongong Undergraduate Students Association (WUSA) said the service will be axed under the proposed changes.
The only thing there is no question about is that the Safe And Respectful Community service (SARC) is under review.
The service provides support to students who have experienced sexual assault, harassment, discrimination, bullying, and violence.
A spokesperson for the University of Wollongong said the draft changes were proposed to meet new government guidelines, and did not include staff reductions or the disestablishment of services.
“Students and staff will continue to have access to confidential, trauma-informed support,” the university spokesperson said.
“The proposed changes are designed to simplify access and improve the way support is provided, not reduce it.
“The proposal redesigns the way services are delivered to provide a more cohesive, consistent and improved experience for our staff and students, consistent with best practice.
“Its aim is not to save costs.
“The proposal has been developed in a context of significant national reforms, including newly introduced codes for preventing and responding to gender-based violence, the establishment of a National Student Ombudsman and strengthened national requirements for managing psychosocial hazards.
“UOW is committed to robustly meeting these new government requirements.”
The university spokesperson said consultation with stakeholders, including the students’ union, was ongoing.
They did not provide details of the proposed changes, however, and WUSA claims the draft won’t just make cuts, it will disestablish SARC entirely.
On social media WUSA said the proposed changed would leave students who experienced harassment or violence with nowhere to turn, and has launched a campaign to save SARC.
A spokesperson for WUSA said they were not able to provide detail on the proposed changes until the university released them publicly.
Their call to save SARC has been backed by the Illawarra Women’s Health Centre (IWHC).
IWHC executive director Sally Stevenson said in the face of rising reports of sexual assaults across NSW the service was more critical now than ever.
“UOW has a precious asset with the SARC team that, from the perspective of victim-survivors and community organisations such as ours, it can’t afford to lose,” Ms Stevenson said.
SARC was established in 2018, after a damning Australian Human Rights Commission report into sexual assault and harassment at Australian universities was handed down in 2017.
In 2022 a National Students Survey found 18.5 per cent of UOW students reported being sexually harassed during their time at the university, and a further six per cent reported having been sexually assaulted.
