Inflating campus sexual assault statistics

I'm told many Vice Chancellors breathed a sigh of relief back in 2019 when the brave former Education Minister Dan Tehan told a conference of the university regulator TEQSA that universities should get out of the whole territory. That was just after a Queensland Supreme Court case ruled universities have no business adjudicating sexual assault – which unfortunately was overruled in an appeal the following year.

A few months ago, there were signs that some universities were prepared to stand up against the feminist onslaught when Universities Australia shelved a proposed new student consent program following objection from some vice-chancellors. The Saturday Paper sneered that this was due to concerns about its explicit nature. But why would universities sign up for another attempt to indoctrinate students with the feminist spin on conducting sexual relationships when they know that even students get the message, activists will still claim an ongoing crisis?

A university library officer mentioned that when they introduced 24/7 opening hours for their university library kids started showing up dressed as if they were going on a date night for pre-booked private study rooms. Let's face it, there's no way to control the behaviour of 1.6 million young adults, many of whom are having their first taste of life free from parental supervision.

Given that the sexual consent courses teach female students that they've been raped if they drink and have sex, and that "staring" is sexual harassment, it's clear that the feminist view of sexual relationships provides constant fuel for the accusations destined to end up in the campus kangaroo courts. One well-meaning Vice Chancellor who decided to personally monitor a SASH hotline found herself confronted with late night emails from girls complaining boys were staring at them.

Naturally the universities are told they would be victim blaming if they were to promote initiatives that could make a difference – such as finding ways of controlling drinking of male and female students. And encouraging women to know their own minds and clearly express decisions around consent, rather than loading the whole responsibility on the shoulders of young men.

The whole business has long been a mug's game for the universities and the easily-led Albanese government is about to make matters a lot worse – for universities and the young men in their care who deserve fair treatment. The campus kangaroo courts are just disgraceful - I'll post an update on some of our campus cases next week.