The pledge coincides with an ongoing police investigation into allegations of sexual assault at a university student accomodation block, and less than three weeks after a man was charged over a separate alleged sex assault linked to the same facility, according to police.

UOW says it has made "significant improvements" in the field since 2017, when the Australian Human Rights Commission published a landmark report on sex offences in Australian universities. The university said it "will and has" accompanied students in reporting matters to police.

Police have confirmed they arrested a 20-year-old man on May 14 in connection with an alleged offence at Kooloobong Village earlier this year. He was charged with sexual assault and is due to face court next week. Another incident originating from Kooloobong in late-2020 is the subject of ongoing police inquiry.

The investigation comes as the Wollongong Undergraduate Students' Association gathers anonymous student reports of current and historic incidents. The survey arose after complaints of sex offences were aired earlier this year on a Facebook page, UOW Rants, and was aimed at "holding the University of Wollongong accountable for poor management of accommodation and complaints", according to WUSA Imogen Draisma.

"WUSA is collating all these complaints in the hope that the university will have a specific response to these issues, and ensure that the culture of sexual assault and harrassment is eradicated from university accommodation," she said.

"The last report the university took part in was in 2019, detailing how it was responding to [the 2017 Human Rights Commission report] and how they were addresing what could be described as an endemic culture within universiteis of sexual assault. Since then there hasn't been much of a discussion in depth about this."

Cases reported to WUSA so far include:

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A spokesman for UOW declined to comment on individual cases, citing privacy reasons. UOW provided the Mercury with a lengthy statement detailing a raft of measures introduced under its Safe and Respectful Communities initiative since 2017, and said it was moving to assist WUSA with its survey.

"In particular, the University and WUSA have agreed the survey needs to be conducted respectfully, and that participants' privacy and confidentiality is important, and that support for victims of sexual assault or sexual harassment is a priority," the spokesman said.

"In the interests of the welfare of both participants and receivers of the survey information, the University is supporting WUSA so that the students conducting the survey have appropriate training in how to respond to disclosures of this kind. The training promotes a safe, respectful community, free from violence and intimidation and includes information about the UOW Support First model of reporting and response.

The spokesman said UOW, with other universities, had commissioned and funded the upcoming National Student Safety Survey. From September the survey will "collect data on the scale and nature of university student experiences of sexual assault and sexual harassment," with the aim of preventing gender-based violence and supporting victims.

The spokesman said consent training - currently compulsory only for those living in UOW student accommodation - would be made mandatory for all students, in line with calls by WUSA.

"Mandatory training for all students will be implemented once a review of Consent Matters and alternative consent training modules has been completed, and ensuring that training is up to date with any legislative changes relating to consent."

"The University of Wollongong believes everyone has the right to feel safe and supported on campus, free from discrimination, harassment, and assault. UOW is committed to creating a safe and respectful environment for all community members.

The University encourages all its community members to report and seek support if they see behaviour that is threatening offensive or could be seen to be harassing or discriminatory in any way. Sexual assault and sexual harassment are never okay, and even one incident is too many.

Vice-Chancellor Professor Patricia Davidson has stated her commitment to seeing this issue addressed.

"I am personally committed to addressing the issue of sexual assault and sexual harassment on campus, to doing what we can to prevent incidents from occurring, and to ensuring that students and staff can access the support and help they need," Professor Davidson said.

For privacy reasons, UOW can't discuss individual cases or allegations of sexual assault or sexual harassment.

UOW urges any students who have experienced sexual assault or sexual harassment to contact the University and access the support services available. Those support services are available regardless of where a student is living or where the incident occurred.

The University has adopted a 'Support First' model that works with the student to ensure they are supported on their terms to address their immediate needs. With any allegation of a criminal offence, individuals are encouraged, and supported, in reporting these incidents to police. UOW will and has accompanied students to provide direct assistance in this process.

UOW supports the rights of individuals in deciding not to report to police. However, UOW may still be required to report the matter to police under its mandatory reporting obligations.

Within the remit of its policies and procedures, the University investigates every reported incident, working collaboratively with police where required.

UOW supports the right of students and staff to speak out about their experiences, about issues of safety on campus, and about ways to improve the University's responses to incidents of sexual assault or sexual harassment.

The University has reached out to WUSA to provide assistance with the way the WUSA survey is being conducted. In particular, the University and WUSA have agreed the survey needs to be conducted respectfully, and that participants' privacy and confidentiality is important, and that support for victims of sexual assault or sexual harassment is a priority.

In the interests of the welfare of both participants and receivers of the survey information, the University is supporting WUSA so that the students conducting the survey have appropriate training in how to respond to disclosures of this kind. The training promotes a safe, respectful community, free from violence and intimidation and includes information about the UOW Support First model of reporting and response.

Australian universities, including UOW, have commissioned and funded the next National Student Safety Survey to run in September 2021. The national survey will collect data on the scale and nature of university student experiences of sexual assault and sexual harassment, and provide the opportunity for students to post anonymous content to a secure site with appropriate supports available to them.

The Respect. Now. Always. campaign and national surveys are part of an ongoing commitment from Australia's universities to prevent gender-based violence and support those who experience it.

All students, whether or not they have been selected to participate in the survey, will have the opportunity to share their story anonymously online.

Further information about UOW's efforts to address this matter over recent years can be found at our Safe and Respectful Communities website.

The University is continuously working to make its campuses safe and respectful, and improve its responses and support when incidents occur. It welcomes feedback from the UOW community to help achieve this.

Significant improvements have already been made under our Safe and Respectful Communities (SARC) initiative in response to the Australian Human Rights Commission Report, 2017 Change the Course, and we will continue to build on this work.

The University has published a report outlining how UOW has implemented the recommendations from Change the Course. Additionally, the Safe and Respectful Communities Action Plan 2019-20 guides the activities the University is undertaking to respond to the recommendations.

As part of its response to Change the Course, UOW has completed a number of independent reviews, including a review of university policies and response pathways in relation to sexual assault and sexual harassment; an audit of counselling services; and a review of factors that contribute to sexual assault and sexual harassment in university accommodations. The executive report and recommendations from each review is available on the UOW website (https://www.uow.edu.au/student/support-services/safety-and-respect/initiatives/).

The 'Consent Matters' training program, available to all students via UOW's online learning platform, Moodle, is mandatory for students in UOW residences and is encouraged for all other students.

As outlined in the UOW SARC Action Plan, mandatory training for all students will be implemented once a review of Consent Matters and alternative consent training modules has been completed, and ensuring that training is up to date with any legislative changes relating to consent.

The SARC team has been consulting extensively with all levels of the student body, including the most vulnerable, such as the LGBTIQ+ community, students who may live with disability and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, to ensure that the training tool addresses adequately the diversity of our student population."

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