#NeverOK Bethany Green
“#NeverOK.” It’s a slogan you may have seen blu-tacked to the Morris Miller walls, graffitied on the toilet doors, or scrawled across a piece of paper, sopping wet and covered in muddy footprints outside Lazenby’s, but what’s it all about? #NeverOK is the TUU’s brand-spanking-new campaign designed to tackle the prevalence of sexual harassment and abuse on campus. With a focus on zero-tolerance and the eradication of victim shaming and embarrassment, this campaign isn’t just for victims or perpetrators: it’s for everyone.
ident North. “This campaign is not about any one incident, but about all.
#NeverOK complements the existing campaign, ‘Respect. Now. Always.’ run throughout all Australian universities, including UTas. However, the new campaign aims to address the issue from a new angle, by working in collaboration with the University to improve the policies and procedures regarding sexual harassment on campus, and to actively inform all UTas students that the TUU and the university have a strict zero-tolerance policy towards sexual assault.
Whilst Dan acknowledges that it is unlikely a change like this will occur overnight, he believes that every small step taken in the right direction is an important one.
TUU President Clark Cooley explains that as a student representative body, the TUU felt a duty to respond to calls for more action against sexual harassment and assault on campus. “For us this included calling upon the university to better educate students about the policies and practices we have to minimise the counts of sexual harassment and assault at UTas.” Clark maintains the importance of ensuring that all students, new and returning, are aware of the minimum acceptable standards for behaviour. “It should be clear to every staff member, student and those in the community that the University has a zero-tolerance policy on sexual assault and sexual harassment.” “It’s a sad reality that sexual assault impacts us all at some stage in our lives, whether it be ourselves, a family member, or a friend,” explains Dan Probert, Campus Pres-
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“The long-term goal [of the campaign] is a university, and ultimately a community, free from sexual assault. The university students of today are the community leaders tomorrow. What’s more, they are, or will be, mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters and friends. If we eradicate sexual assault here on campus, then the flow on effect of that to the community over time will be enormous.”
So, what is harassment? According to the ‘University Behaviour Policy’, harassment is defined as ‘behaviour which offends, humiliates, intimidates, insults or ridicules another person in circumstances which a reasonable person would have anticipated that the victim would be offended, humiliated, intimidated, insulted or ridiculed.’ This definition of harassment demonstrates how harassment is not always obvious, but could be experienced in something as small as a passing touch, or inappropriate comments and questions. The TUU are advocating that this sort of behaviour is Never OK. Often one of the most challenging aspects for people who experience sexual harassment or abuse is the multitude of emotions that come with choosing to tell someone else, particularly someone in authority. Shame, fear, anxiety, are commonplace when working through questions such as, ‘Will I be judged as making this bigger than it is? Is it just my fault its happening? Will there be some form of retribution? Will the systems that are meant to protect me fail me instead?’ These sorts of questions can delay a person making a report, which can result in further harm.