If you read the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) survey into sexual assault and harassment on university campuses last year, you probably felt dismayed. We sure did. Helpless, even, that a such a huge problem could be happening right under our noses, and we weren’t doing anything to stop it.

In case you didn’t read it, the report surveyed 30,000 university students across Australia, and found that in 2016, one in five of those students had been sexually harassed in a university setting.

But thankfully, there were some students who actually did do something about it. Students who decided to turn that icky feeling into something positive. Students from Flinders University banded together to ask themselves how they could fix this problem at a grassroots level. The result? The “Be A Better Human” campaign.

Uni Junkee spoke to the Students Council President and co-founder of the campaign, Ashley Sutherland, about how all of this came to life.

Tackling Rape Culture At Its Core

The “Be A Better Human” campaign is “by students, for students” and encourages students to reflect on consent, respect and empathy. It involves informative material posted around the Flinders Uni campus, t-shirts, pins, interactive installations, and even undies — the proceeds of which go straight to a non-profit in South Australia.

The material involves slogans like “Don’t be a jerk” and “Empathy, consent, respect”. For the students who created the movement, it was all about starting a conversation that could involve everyone.

“We wanted to create a campaign that didn’t start out alienating or shaming,” Ashley said. “That’s why it’s Be a Better Human — not ‘be a better man’ or ‘rapists rape’. Those slogans have a time and a place, but we wanted this campaign to be about self-reflexive thought. Ultimately, everyone thinks they’re decent people but neglect to assess some of their actions.”

“We tried to illustrate the connection between behaviour in culture and behaviour on campus that leads to harassment, assault and rape,” Ashley continued. “In challenging students to be aware of their behaviour as well as giving them options in how to speak to others about their behaviour.”

As part of the campaign, they created a helpful information toolkit. Pulled together with the help of Yarrow Place, the leading survivor support service in South Australia, and Flinders University’s Health Counselling and Disability service, the toolkit outlines what consent really means, and what it looks like.

They also waived copyright over the materials, “to ensure they are freely available to student associations across Australia and internationally”. (Thanks, you guys.)

Getting Practical

But it doesn’t just stop with a conversation. The team behind Be A Better Human are hoping to address some key objectives that they’ve identified over their involvement and research.

They were asked to report back on practical ways the university can respond to their findings. “Things, say, that we as students and as a Student Association cannot do alone. Like, increasing lighting on campus, and/or involve students in the re-design of the University’s Equal Opportunity policies,” Ashley says.

Social Justice Legends

Yes, we know what you’re thinking — these guys are total heroes. With our hectic schedule, we can barely shower of a morning, let alone create a nationwide movement to fight against sexual assault and harassment. So how did they do it?

Ashley says that as well as face-to-face meetings, they did a lot of stuff online, and worked with the staff at the Flinders University Student Association to make it all happen. But most importantly, they looked after themselves first.

“We were sure to prioritise self-care,” Ashley said. “And ensure all involved that study, work and social commitments were a priority — especially as the subject content could be emotionally taxing.”

If you want to read the booklet, you can do so here. If you want to buy yourself some very woke new undies, you can do that too. If you wanna send these heroes a message saying “well done”, you can do so at [email protected].

(All images: provided)