Sexual Harassment in Higher Education Report: The Indo-Pacific

Reading time: 9 minutes

This report explores how sexual harassment in higher education settings is understood, addressed and responded to in 28 Indo-Pacific countries: Australia, Brunei, Cambodia, Cook Islands, Fiji, Indonesia, Kiribati, Laos, Malaysia, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Myanmar, Nauru, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Samoa, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Thailand, Timor Leste, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Vietnam.

Of the 28 countries:

Three had national policies specifically addressing sexual harassment in higher education
institutions (Australia, Indonesia, Philippines).

  • Four had special procedures in place addressing sexual harassment in higher education
    institutions (Australia, Indonesia, New Zealand, Philippines).
  • The majority of universities within the focus countries (21 of 28) had some form of institutional
    policy in place addressing sexual harassment.

Key challenges relating to the implementation of institutional policies included:

  • Knowledge and ease of access to reporting and support procedures.
  • Lack of confidentiality for victim-survivors in reporting.
  • Fear of reputational damage to institutions impacting on the effectiveness of procedures.
  • Disconnect between policies/procedures and what happens in practice.
  • Perceived lack of institutional prioritisation of victim-survivor needs and interests.

Promising elements of the institutional policies included:

  • Developing specialised sexual violence committees or taskforces to handle reports.
  • Integrating well-executed support systems for victim-survivors across the reporting and investigation processes.
  • Widening the definition of sexual harassment to include the full range of sexually harmful behaviours, such as technology-facilitated sexual violence.
  • Updating and revising policies regularly, including conducting audits and reviews.
  • Sexual consent training for students and staff to help shift problematic cultural and gendered attitudes around victim-blaming, harm and sexual violence.

Suggested Citation:

Flynn, A., Carrea, K., True, J., Davies, S. E., Quilty, E., Ballangarry, J. & Puspita, S. (2024) Sexual Harassment in Higher Education Report: The Indo-Pacific. CEVAW: Melbourne. DOI 10.26188/27850302

Last updated: Aug 2025

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Keywords

Sexual Harassment