Dear Elia,

 

I refer to your request of 11 August 2023. The University does not use the
term “sexual violence” as a category of incident in our records. The
University does classify incidents as “harmful sexual behaviour”, and can
take action in relation to complaints of harmful sexual behaviour which
constitute “sexual harassment” in breach of the University’s Addressing
Bullying, Harassment and Discrimination Policy
([1]https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/about-us/a...).

 

The University’s definition of “harmful sexual behaviour” is as follows:

 

“The term Harmful Sexual Behaviour encapsulates the full spectrum of
behaviours and issues relating to sexual misconduct, including such
behaviours as sexual harassment, coercion, sexual harm, sexual assault,
sexual violence and retaliation. Harmful sexual behaviours are unwelcome
or offensive sexual behaviours that are significant enough to have a
harmful effect on an individual’s wellbeing. Harmful sexual behaviours can
occur in the physical or digital environment.”

 

The University’s definition of “sexual harassment” is as set out in
University’s Addressing Bullying, Harassment and Discrimination Policy,
but has been reproduced here for ease of reference:

 

“Sexual harassment is unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature that could be
offensive, humiliating or intimidating to any other person and is either
repeated, or of such a significant nature, that it has a detrimental
effect on the person, their performance or their work and study
environment. This includes a request for sexual activity of any sort that
contains an implied or overt promise of preferential treatment or overt
threat of detrimental treatment. It is unlawful to sexually harass another
person even if there was no intention to harass the person.”

 

In the past few years, the University has implemented a range of
improvements to its policy, prevention, and support services to raise
awareness, and prevent and better respond to harmful sexual behaviour.
Please see the webpages available at the following link for further
information:
[2]https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/students/s...

 

The University cannot provide the information requested about “sexual
violence” statistics for 2019 to 2023 to date, as this is not an incident
category we use, and so the University does not hold the requested
information. Please advise if you are willing to amend your request to
statistics on a category of incident which the University can provide. For
example, the University can provide statistics for this period on the
“Number of formal complaints relating to harmful sexual behaviour against
University of Auckland students, by year (according to date of complaint)”
– although we cannot provide a further breakdown by on-campus and
off-campus incidents.

 

This response to parts 2 and 3 of your request technically constitutes a
partial refusal to provide information requested on the grounds that it is
not held by the University (18(g)) or is publicly available (18(d)). You
have the right to make a complaint to an Ombudsman if you are dissatisfied
with this response.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

Landon Watt
Legal Advisor
Office of the Vice-Chancellor

Waipapa Taumata Rau | University of Auckland  

 

 

From: Elia Gibbons <[3][FOI #23779 email]>
Sent: Friday, 11 August 2023 8:48 am
To: legal <[4][University of Auckland request email]>
Subject: Official Information request - Sexual Violence incidents and
responses in the last 5 years

 

Tēnā koe,

I am writing to request information on sexual violence definitions,
incidents, and responses at The University of Auckland over the past five
years:

1. Reported Acts of Sexual Violence: We are hoping to understand the
number of reported acts of sexual violence that have been brought to the
university's attention within the last five years and the number of these
that occurred in university premises (including halls of residence) and
the number that occurred outside of university premises.

2. University Definition of Sexual Violence: We would also appreciate
clarification on whether the university has an established definition for
operationalizing sexual violence. If so, could this definition please be
provided.

3. University Responses to Sexual Violence: In addition, we seek
information on the existing responses that the university has implemented
to address and combat sexual violence.

We recognize that sexual violence is a complex issue, and we acknowledge
that the number of reported incidents does not reflect the safety of the
university environment. Instead, we understand that the focus should be on
creating an environment where students feel comfortable and supported in
seeking help and assistance from the university. We appreciate your
cooperation in providing this information as we believe that understanding
and addressing sexual violence will help create a safe and supportive
environment.

Ngā mihi,
Elia Gibbons

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Dear Elia,

 

I refer to your request of 28 September 2023. The University’s response
follows:

 

“the number of formal complaints relating to harmful sexual behaviour
against University of Auckland students, by year within the last 5 years
(according to date of complaint).”

 

The number of complaints/reports relating to harmful sexual behaviour
against University of Auckland students, by year within the last 5 years
(according to date of complaint), is provided below. Note that
complaints/reports have been included in these statistics on the basis
that they have been made or referred to the Proctor’s Office, which is the
University’s primary reference point for all matters concerning student
non-academic misconduct. Not all of these complaints/reports are
actionable – the statistics provided include anonymous complaints,
complaints that were withdrawn, and complaints that could not be
investigated due to insufficient evidence or lack of jurisdiction. Where
the University has received multiple complaints about a single incident,
they have been recorded as a single complaint.

2019: 12
2020: 10

2021: 23

2022: 20

2023 (1 January to 30 September): 12

 

Yours sincerely,

 

Landon Watt
Legal Advisor
Office of the Vice-Chancellor

Waipapa Taumata Rau | University of Auckland  

 

From: Elia Gibbons <[1][FOI #23779 email]>
Sent: Thursday, September 28, 2023 10:27 AM
To: Landon Watt <[2][email address]>
Subject: RE: 2023-OIA-0156-Gibbons

 

Kia Ora Landon,

Thanks so much for the response, with the information you provided in mind
I would like to amend section one of my request as suggested to cover
statistics on the number of formal complaints relating to harmful sexual
behaviour against University of Auckland students, by year within the last
5 years (according to date of complaint).

Ngā mihi,
Elia Gibbons

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