A Coummunity of Respect

Trinity College grounds on a beautiful day
0001-01-01

We value and expect a high standard of conduct from all Trinity College students, staff, visiting scholars and guests.

Trinity College is committed to providing a welcoming community in which all members feel respected, safe and supported, and in which our students can thrive and grow academically and personally.

We welcome the increasing recognition in our society of the issue of sexual harassment, sexual violence and antisocial behaviours. These behaviours are unacceptable and have no place at Trinity College.

As a residential and academic community, we set a high standard of excellence for both students and staff. Trinity has a zero-tolerance approach to behaviour that demeans, harasses, discriminates, exploits or results in assault. Trinity College has a prompt, appropriate and rigorous institutional approach to antisocial behaviour which includes:

  • clear, accessible and anonymous referral pathways for reporting incidents, and robust policies and procedures to investigate allegations of sexual misconduct, harassment or antisocial behaviour
  • code of conduct training for all students
  • mandatory training in sexual consent and bystander intervention for all Residential College students 
  • enforcement of the student code of conduct, which clearly sets out the standards of expected behaviour and specifies a range of responses, up to and including permanent exclusion from Trinity College and/or referral to the police.

In the situation where transgression of a code of conduct occurs, the College responds promptly to ensure the wellbeing and safety of those involved by providing pastoral care and support.

At Trinity, we encourage our students, staff, visiting scholars and guests to be thoughtful and respectful citizens. We regularly review our practices and actively seek input from students, staff and internal and external experts to ensure that Trinity continues to follow current best practice in this area.

Trinity College residential culture review

In 2017, the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) published Change the Course: National Report on Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment in Australian Universities. The AHRC made a series of recommendations to deal with sexual assault in a university setting, covering leadership and governance, changing attitudes and behaviour, responses to sexual assault, and residential colleges and university residences. Recommendation 9 was that residential colleges should commission an expert-led review of the factors that contribute to sexual assault and sexual harassment in their settings.

Trinity College accepted this recommendation and elected to take the review process even further to gain valuable insight into the overall inclusiveness and safety of our Residential College. The wellbeing of our students is our number one priority and the review was seen as an opportunity to learn and improve.

In October 2019 the results of our Residential College culture review were released. This review was an important exercise in taking stock of the student environment at Trinity. It affirmed much of what we do well, while also giving us a clear indication as to how we can make Trinity a safer and more welcoming place for all.

Review process

We wanted to ensure that this cultural review was rigorous and managed with utmost professionalism. We therefore engaged the Honourable Professor Marcia Neave AO, former judge of the Court of Appeal, Supreme Court of Victoria, and commissioner of the Victorian Royal Commission into Family Violence, to compile the overall report. We refer to this project as the Neave Review.

The Review is informed by qualitative and quantitative information and included commissioning an expert in quantitative sociology at the University of Melbourne to create and conduct a student engagement survey. All findings and recommendations in this Review are the result of an analysis of Trinity College policy documents, direct observation of student training, interviews with staff, interviews with – and submissions from – students, parents and recent alumni, and student survey results.

What we learned

The results of the one-year review show that our culture has many strengths and the majority of the students who participated spoke very positively about their experience at Trinity College. In particular, they noted the strong community, academic and personal support, range of activities on offer and lasting friendships they’d made.

That said, we believe in continuous improvement, which includes regularly reviewing and refining our policies and processes. We acknowledge that in the past our Residential College culture had some shortcomings and we wholeheartedly apologise for any adverse impact these may have had on our students and past students.

What we did

In collaboration with students, staff and the leadership team, we completed and/or implemented all recommendations in the Neave Review and will continue to be proactive in our efforts to be recognised leaders in practicing respectful relationships, gender equality and inclusiveness.

Full Report

Summary and Action Plan

Progress Report

If you wish to discuss any aspect of the review or have any concerns of a historical nature, please contact me the Warden of Trinity College, Professor Ken Hinchcliff directly on warden@trinity.unimelb.edu.au.