Fighting sexual assault

By Lucy Svejk According to Campaign Against Sexual Assault (CASA), early this year a woman was raped and another student sexually harassed by a lecturer at an Australian National University honours students camp. This lecturer remains the coordinator of an honours program and has been supported and promoted by the department since the incidents. The ANU's procedures for dealing with sexual assault and harassment are a problem because the Council Committee Against Sexual Harassment (CCASH) sees its role as settling disputes and reconciling differences. Rape and sexual harassment, however, are not disputes in which differences can easily be mediated. In some cases, which it deems police matters, CCASH is unwilling to take action. A protest by students outside an ANU council meeting in October resulted in a review of CCASH procedures. The review committee included students. This small victory was overshadowed by the university's declaration that, in the case of the second student mentioned above, "no sexual harassment took place". CASA was formed by people who were outraged by these incidents, and the lack of action taken by the university. Its objectives are: to provide support and information; to raise awareness about sexual assault and create a sense of collective responsibility in dealing with it; and to campaign actively to fight sexual assault as feminists.