Safety at UTS

[Applause] [Music] Welcome to our UTS community. Whether your home is a 13-hour flight away in Chennai, an hour’s commute from Western Sydney, or around the corner from our city campus, we want UTS to feel like home for you. A key part of that is ensuring you feel safe wherever, whenever you’re studying or working within our community. UTS has an ongoing commitment to putting community safety first. For all students and staff, this means creating an environment where there’s no space for disrespectful behaviour or sexual violence of any kind.

This is where RNA comes into play. RNA is Respect Now Always, a national campaign that encourages a culture of respectful behaviour. By talking about issues like the role of ethical and active bystanders and the importance of clear communication and consent, we’re trying to have these conversations within a broader discussion around a culture of respect and consent. Here’s how we’re going about it: the RNA team works with an amazing group of staff and student volunteers on a variety of initiatives focused on shifting attitudes and changing behaviours.

In recent years, we’ve introduced mandatory Consent Matters training for all staff and students, a 24/7 sexual assault support line, a 24/7 female security presence with first responder training, as well as an out-of-business-hours counselling service, to name a few. So now that you’re up to speed with RNA, ask yourself: what actions can I take to help create a safe and respectful environment for me and my community to work, study, and live in? As one person, you can actually make a big difference to help shift attitudes and develop respectful relationships with your peers, lecturers, tutors, and community.

For example, you can call out offensive behaviour when you see it or offer to support someone who you saw being disrespected or mistreated. You can make sure to always seek consent in your everyday interactions, always respect the needs and boundaries of your friends, partners, and peers, and be clear in your communication when you’re expressing your own needs and wants. Set boundaries around anything that doesn’t feel right. It’s about knowing what you need to feel comfortable and respecting that.

Want to know more about RNA? Well, you’ll be happy to know we run lots of events and activities throughout the year, like our famous ice cream activations at the start of the session, where we chat with students about everything from sexual consent to bystander intervention and university supports, all while spooning out the sweet stuff—with consent, of course. Keen to learn more or follow what we’re up to? Join the RNA conversation. Head to our website at rna.uts.edu.au or pop along to one of our events soon.