Safer Universities
Safer Universities
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Universities should be safe places to work, teach and learn, yet many academics experience a range of harmful behaviours from students. Recent exploratory pilot studies (Smith, 2026; Smith, 2022) have documented academic experiences of harm and violence, including bullying, discrimination, sexual harassment, threats and technology-facilitated abuse. These findings do not stand alone; they align with broader sector evidence, including the Australian Human Rights Commission's (2026) report on racism experienced by university staff, including through student evaluation processes, and the National Tertiary Education Union's findings on student-perpetrated sexual harassment (2023).
Universities should be safe places to work, teach and learn, yet many academics experience a range of harmful behaviours from students. Recent exploratory pilot studies (Smith, 2026; Smith, 2022) have documented academic experiences of harm and violence, including bullying, discrimination, sexual harassment, threats and technology-facilitated abuse. These findings do not stand alone; they align with broader sector evidence, including the Australian Human Rights Commission's (2026) report on racism experienced by university staff, including through student evaluation processes, and the National Tertiary Education Union's findings on student-perpetrated sexual harassment (2023).
This website shares research, publications and resources aimed at improving understandings of student-to-academic harm in Australian universities and supporting evidence-informed policy, practice and future research.
This website shares research, publications and resources aimed at improving understandings of student-to-academic harm in Australian universities and supporting evidence-informed policy, practice and future research.
About the researcher:
Dr Erika (Rik) K. Smith is a sociologist and lecturer in the School of Social Sciences at Western Sydney University. Rik's research focuses on student-to-academic harm, workplace harassment, gender-based violence and institutional responses in higher education.
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