[ASA] National Report on Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment at Australian Universities (2017)

[Stuart Wyithe]

The Astronomical Society of Australia joins the Australian University community in its deep concern regarding the findings of the "Change The Course: National Report on Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment at Australian Universities (2017)" report, released today by the Australian Human Rights Commission. Sexual harassment and assault are not to be tolerated at any level of academia. University students are the lifeblood of university communities, and the degree to which university students in Australia have reported widespread and recent abuses is truly alarming. The ASA recognises that the majority of Australian astronomers are employed or undergoing study in the university environment. We therefore welcome the production and release of this report, for the academic and wider communities to fully appreciate the depth of the problem.

The ASA endorses the detailed recommendations of the "Change The Course” report. We urge members of our community who supervise staff and students in our Universities to ensure that all members of their department or group receive appropriate education regarding the range of behaviours that constitute sexual assault and sexual harassment, and about the support services and reporting processes available at each institution.

We remind members that the Astronomical Society of Australia has a code of ethics that its members must adhere to (http://asa.astronomy.org.au/code_of_ethics.php<http://asa.astronomy.org.au/code_of_ethics.php>) and an anti-harassment code of conduct for all ASA-affiliated meetings and events (http://asa.astronomy.org.au/code_of_conduct.php<http://asa.astronomy.org.au/code_of_conduct.php>). The IDEA Chapter of the ASA has also compiled a page discussing the problem of harassment (https://asa-idea.org/resources-to-take-action/anti-harassment-advice/) where further information can be accessed by the ASA community.

Stuart Wyithe

President, ASA

——————————————————————————————
Professor Stuart Wyithe | Head, School of Physics

Shirley Els | Executive Assistant – Head, School of Physics
T: +61 3 8344 5453   E: shirley.els at unimelb.edu.au<mailto:shirley.els at unimelb.edu.au>

Faculty of Science
Room 104, David Caro Building (192)
The University of Melbourne, Victoria 3010 Australia
T: +61 3 8344 5420 and +61 3 8344 5083
F: +61 3 9347 4783
E: swyithe at unimelb.edu.au<mailto:swyithe at unimelb.edu.au>
W: science.unimelb.edu.au<http://unimelb.edu.au/>

[cid:image001.png at 01D30B21.A0285360]
This email and any attachments may contain personal information or information that is otherwise confidential or the subject of copyright. Any use, disclosure or copying of any part of it is prohibited. The University does not warrant that this email or any attachments are free from viruses or defects. Please check any attachments for viruses and defects before opening them. If this email is received in error please delete it and notify us by return email.
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mailman.sydney.edu.au/pipermail/asa/attachments/20170802/1e286c8d/attachment.html>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image001.png
Type: image/png
Size: 15414 bytes
Desc: image001.png
URL: <http://mailman.sydney.edu.au/pipermail/asa/attachments/20170802/1e286c8d/attachment.png>