Key points
- 54 percent of international students have allegedly experienced sexual violence or intimate couple violence in the last year, according to a national survey.
- The survey was conducted in five languages, including Hindi, Nepalí and Vietnamese, from 2021 to 2023.
- Divya Patpatia, a lawyer who identifies as a victim of physical assault, highlights the importance of informing such crimes.
Sudha (name changed) remembers an incident when, as an international student, a man approached him as he walked home.
“I was talking to my colleague when this man threatened me and then lowered his pants,” he said.
According to Sudha, she informed the incident to the police, but did not receive an answer.
Australia is one of the most popular study destinations for international students. (Representative image of a university) Credit: Darron Cumms/AP/AAP
She said she was too afraid to tell her family, fearing that they blame her for the incident.
A year later, she was allegedly harassed by another man who followed her while driving a taxi.
“I sent me random text messages and then admitted to harassing me. These two incidents have severely impacted my mental health, and I have fought to recover,” he shared.
“I resigned from my work and limited myself to my house. Although I am now married, I have not yet been able to recover or return to work, as fear of being harassed.”
A recent national survey revealed that sexual violence and violence of the intimate couple prevail among international women, with more than 40 percent of participants who report experiences of sexual violence after reaching the country.
Melbourne headquarters That he was supposedly “physically assaulted” in 2021, he also shared his experience.
“It was a regular day for me when a stranger attacked me, according to reports, I faced mental health problems. I was physically content during the assault and threatened with a knife,” he said.
Divya Patpatia is a Melbourne -based lawyer. Credit: Supplied by Divya Patpatia
“I came to Australia with dreams, but this attack, without my fault, left me vulnerable, interrupting my education, my life and my well -being.”
She said that after her story was reported in the media, many in her community distanced themselves from her and her family at home, almost as if she blamed her for what happened.
“It was not a sexual assault, but the fact that I was alone in the room with him was questioned by many,” he said.
Patpatia, an employment lawyer and labor relations, now emphasizes the importance of victims who denounce such crimes to the police, friends or anyone who trusts.
“The impact of sexual aggressions or similar crimes is much greater when the author is someone with whom you know and live,” he said.
A screen capture taken from a video supplied with a woman jogging in the Sydney suburbs, which has been attacked from behind by a man. (Representative image) Credit: PR/AAP image
“I was privileged in a way since I knew the legal system here, which helped me recover from this incident,” he said.
New study
A team of researchers from the University of Melbourne, the University of Monash and the University of Deakin conducted a National Survey of International Students from 2021 to 2023 in five languages, including Hindi, Nepalí and Vietnamese.
The study, entitled ‘Experiences of sexual and intimate couple violence among international women in Australia’, was recently published in the academic magazine.
The authors declared that the survey questions regarding sexual aggressions were carefully framed to ensure that they were appropriate and acceptable to international students.
More than 40 percent of the participants reported having found at least one instance of sexual violence since arriving in Australia. Credit: Chong Kee Siong/Getty Images
“The availability of the survey in multiple languages is also a key strength that may have increased participation and comfort,” he said, added that it could be due to the fact that the results in the study were higher than those reported in the .
The findings showed that almost 54 percent had allegedly experienced sexual violence or intimate couple violence in the last year, the strangers being the most common perpetrators, which represents 62.2 percent of the cases.
More than 40 percent of the participants reported having found at least one instance of sexual violence since arriving in Australia.
The most common forms of abuse included unwanted sexual comments, looks, actions that made them feel insecure, to gro2, kisses or moving, as well as the repeated pressure for sex after saying “no”.
A team of researchers conducted a survey in five languages. Credit: Violetaimenova/Getty images
A significant portion of forced or forced sex was committed by casual dates or connections (43.2 percent), friends or acquaintances (37.1 percent) and intimate couples (37.5 percent).
“Social support, housing stress and financial insecurity were associated with a greater probability of victimization, highlighting the critical areas for improvement in government policies and tertiary institutions,” said the main author, the professor at the University of Melbourne, Laura Tarzia.
Time for action
The study acknowledged that “international students were far from their usual support structures and faced several cultural and systemic barriers for access to service.”
“Tertiary education institutions could do more to support students to find affordable, safe and safe homes and avoid giving a blind eye to potentially exploiting housing conditions that can put students at risk of violence,” he added.
“Ensure that international students are linked to social networks can also help reduce the risk of experiencing violence or to improve their impacts after it occurred.”
Tarzia said there was also a need for culturally sensitive and linguistically appropriate education around such issues for international students.
Laura Tarzia is a professor in the Department of General Practice and Primary Care of the University of Melbourne. Credit: Harriet Tarbuck/supplied by Professor Laura Tarzia
Patpatia said he supported the recommendations and urged victims to inform incidents.
“If you feel uncomfortable, the first thing you should do is inform it, either for your friend, your university or the police, or maintain a book of registration of such events with you,” he said.
“There is a lot of support for housing, crisis management, specialized psychological support, food and emergency supplies … however, such services remain out of reach due to complicated documentation, legal procedures and lack of diversity,” he said.
The study also recognized the shortage of data available, but emphasized the urgency of addressing the problem.
“The study may not present a complete image, since it does not take into account other groups of international students, such as schools, and these incidents are often not informed,” Tarzia said, highlighting the importance of such conversations to create awareness and support the affected cohort.
He released in February of this year, with the authority to investigate the complaints of the students, it is anticipated that it will provide some hope.
In The student of the national town, Iain Anderson, said the body had not received “many” complaints of gender violence so far.
“Sexual violence is never acceptable. If it happens to a student on the campus, in university accommodation or in relation to the university, do not hesitate to communicate with us,” he said.
Anderson reassured students about the accessibility of the service.
“We are a free service. It can come to us anonymously, and we believe that we can help ensure that your voice is heard. Informing can also help prevent others from happening to others,” he said.
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