This week, a federal report revealed shockingly high rates of sexual assault and harrassment on Australian university campuses. According to these findings, something like one in five female respondents claimed to have been subjected to such treatment. One in five! Now, I don't consider myself a masculist or a feminist (there are awful examples of both); I do, however, support the call for gender equality (even if, admittedly, my tastes are quite masculine).
Are men really more prone to violence and obsessed with sex and if so, does that explain these findings? I know it doesn't excuse them at all. And during my six years at my alma mater (Central Queensland University from 2006 to 2012), not once did I witness any such behaviour, although that doesn't mean it's never happened there at all. But had I seen such treatment, I really would have intervened or reported it. A large number of LGBT students also claimed to have been targeted, which adds insult to injury. It's like Australian tertiary education is became the same as the American Ivy League with its fraternities and sororities, which also engage in very dangerous hazing rituals.
If you attend university (or college), you can let your hair down sometimes. I did that a fair amount in my own student days. But that is not what you or your parents paid thousands of bucks for you to do. And we all, whatever our gender, sexuality/identification or race et cetera, should be treated as equal.
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