Lot's Wife Edition 2 2016
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CULTURE<br />
“Everyone should<br />
feel safe enough to<br />
go the 500 meters<br />
back to their home<br />
without having to<br />
hold their car keys<br />
in one hand .”<br />
Okay, I know he was only looking out for me, but<br />
regardless, everyone should feel safe enough to go the 500<br />
meters back to their home without having to hold their<br />
car keys in one hand and 000 dialled on their phone in the<br />
other.<br />
Aside from university faculty departments dismissing<br />
claims and not taking victims seriously in their need for<br />
support and justice, both the documentary and survey focus<br />
on the location of sexual attacks, and how this relates to the<br />
university or college under scrutiny. While most assaults on<br />
students appear off campus in private housing and public<br />
locations, over 12% of assaults in Australia are at student<br />
organisation events where predators have a whole pool of<br />
new victims to pick and choose from.<br />
Another Monash student came forward about her<br />
assault that happened in O-week of her first year. At a<br />
Monash party (a party that still runs every O-week), where<br />
first-years, all other students, and sexual predators are<br />
welcome to attend, she was approached by someone who<br />
repeatedly made unwanted sexual advances. After mostly<br />
ordering water to drink all night, she began to notice feeling<br />
hazy, and knowing that she hadn't had enough alcohol to be<br />
drunk, realised that her drink had been spiked.<br />
She quickly turned to a friend and ordered a taxi home<br />
when her physical responses became so slow that she was<br />
unable to stand on her own or form a single sentence. She<br />
was carried back to her on campus home by a number of<br />
close friends who notified the residential team before deciding<br />
to call an ambulance.<br />
The following morning when the victim woke, instead<br />
of being assured that she was safe and that the university<br />
would make every attempt at justice, she was accused by<br />
residential staff members of heavy drinking and provocative<br />
or misleading actions towards her assailant. Even though<br />
the victim was certain of the attacker being the man who<br />
continually approached her, the Halls of Residence and<br />
societies who organised the o-week event failed to further<br />
investigate the claim, and dismissed the ordeal as a merely<br />
unfortunate evening, leaving the culprit free to attend more<br />
university events.<br />
Instead of trying their best at supporting victims and<br />
punishing the attackers, universities are putting their time,<br />
money, energy, and resources into ensuring that current,<br />
future and past students aren't aware of these assaults that<br />
occur all too frequently. This silencing of claims is a vital<br />
focus in The Hunting Ground that clearly remains relevant<br />
in Australia. It’s also abundantly obvious in both American<br />
and Australian cases that student organisation events and<br />
other money making schemes for the universities are not<br />
condemned for their high sexual assault rates. Instead of<br />
truthfully branding them as events where attackers can<br />
seek out prey and warning future victims, these instances<br />
of assault are left unaddressed so that the universities can<br />
maintain their positive reputation.<br />
It's all about the university's image. If potential students<br />
are aware of the immense rape culture at their dream<br />
institution, it won't be their dream any more. If alumni<br />
learn about how their classmates were accused of sexual<br />
assault, they won't donate. If the current students discover<br />
a predator in the class, they'll switch.<br />
There needs to be an even ground whereby all universities<br />
must accept any and all sexual assault cases with<br />
equality and empathy. These issues should not be dismissed<br />
on victim blaming or fear in the university being tarnished.<br />
If all colleges and universities administered the same policies,<br />
yes, statistics showing sexual assault among students<br />
would rise by a staggering amount and raise questions<br />
about rape and assault culture at the university. But this<br />
rise in statistics would only be a reflection of the truth, and<br />
encourage more men and women who are victims of such<br />
crime to come forward and further promote justice.<br />
Resources for reporting or discussing sexual assault:<br />
Life Line| 13 11 14<br />
Sexual Assault Report Anonymously | Download the app<br />
for free or report online at www.sara.org.au<br />
Monash Safer Community Unit | safercommunity@<br />
monash.edu<br />
44 | Lot’s <strong>Wife</strong>
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