Letter to our community

Dear staff and students

Over coming weeks the University will be talking a lot about respectful relationships, sexual consent, boundaries, communication, and the support available for survivors of sexual assault and harassment.

Every member of our community has the right and an expectation that the University will provide an environment for work, study and living that is safe and respectful. Every member of our community has the right to expect their college-mates, classmates and colleagues will treat them with respect.

We must be a community where every member can fully participate in the life of the University and where every member of our community takes responsibilities for their behaviour and actions.

Being part of the ANU community means acting and behaving in a way that is consistent with a set of fundamental values.

•          We are inclusive, open and respectful, reflecting the diversity of our nation;
•          We are committed to integrity and ethical behaviour; and
•          We value, enable, reward and celebrate collegiality.

These are the core values that we uphold as members of the ANU community and the price of membership to our community is adherence to them.

At the beginning of the year ANU launched a fully interactive and evidence-based course covering the areas of sexual consent, communication and relationships, and bystander intervention Consent Matters: Boundaries, Respect and Positive Intervention.

I urge all students who are yet to complete the course to spend some time over the next few weeks to complete the module.

As I have said on many occasions, sexual assault and harassment have no place on this campus.

Sexual misconduct, in all its forms, from harassment and assault to inappropriate comments and touching, is not compatible with our values.

As Vice-Chancellor, I am committed to providing a campus that is safe and respectful.

Each and every one of us has a responsibility for our own behaviour, and this means respecting each other’s boundaries and differences and behaving with integrity.

Brian