Understanding Gender-Based Violence and Sexual Misconduct

A broad term encompassing any unwelcome sexual behaviour that occurs without consent, or that makes a person feel uncomfortable, frightened or threatened. Sexual misconduct includes sexual harassment and sexual assault, as well as behaviours like stalking. 

Sexual misconduct is not tolerated at UQ. If you think you might have experienced sexual misconduct, domestic and family violence, or need support, you can contact the Sexual Misconduct Support Unit (SMSU). 

Sexual assault encompasses any kind of unwanted or unwelcome sexual activity that occurs without consent. 

Sexual assault includes:

• Unwanted sexual touching;
• Forcing someone to witness a sex act;
• Rape - when someone puts their penis, a body part, or an object into another person's vagina or anus, or where someone puts their penis into another person's mouth, without their consent.

You can be sexually assaulted by a stranger or by someone you know, such as a partner, colleague, friend, or family member. Sexual assault is a crime under Queensland law.

Sexual harassment is an unwelcome sexual behaviour that makes a person feel offended, humiliated or intimidated. It can include both physical and verbal behaviours. Some examples of sexual harassment include:

• Someone making unwelcome comments about a person's appearance or sex life;
• Unwelcome sexual advances or requests for sexual favours;
• Unwanted invitations to go on dates;
• Sexual comments or jokes;
• Staring or leering;
• Unwelcome physical touching;
• Showing a person sexually explicit or pornographic content on any electronic devices.

Sexual harassment can take place in-person or online (via social media, texts, emails etc.). You can be sexually harassed by someone you know or by a stranger.

A behaviour does not have to be repeated to be considered as sexual harassment. A single instance of a behaviour is enough to be considered as harassment. Sexual harassment is against the law in Queensland, where it meets the definition under the Anti-Discrimination Act 1991.

Behaviour, ordinarily of a repetitive nature, towards an individual or group of individuals on the basis of an Attribute that intimidates or humiliates in circumstances where a reasonable person would have anticipated the possibility that the other person would be humiliated or intimidated by the conduct.

Harassment can include behaviour such as:

1. Telling insulting jokes about particular racial groups or genders;
2. Asking intrusive questions about someone’s personal life, including their sex life; or
3. Making derogatory comments or taunts about someone’s race.

Behaviour that constitutes Harassment may also constitute Gender-based Violence.

Consent refers to the freely-given, informed and voluntary agreement to engage in a specific sexual activity. Consent is more than just a legal requirement. It is about respecting the person you are having sex with, to ensure they are safe, comfortable and feel able to communicate what they want to and do not want to do.

Consent:

• Should never be assumed - the absence of a 'no' is not consent.
• Should be specific - just because a person consents to a particular sexual activity does not imply consent to any others.
• Requires continuous communication - this means checking in with the other person regularly to make sure they are comfortable and wish to continue.
• Needs to happen every time - just because you had sex with someon before does not mean you can assume their consent to have sex with you in the future. This includes if you are married or in a relationship.
• Can be withdrawn at any time, through words or conduct.
• Should be affirmative - this means a person is giving you clear, verbal and non-verbal cues to show that they are comfortable, enthusiastic and consenting.

A person cannot consent if:

• They are asleep or unconcsious.
• They are intoxicated or under the influence of drugs to the point where they do not have the capacity to give meaningful consent.
• They are under the age of consent - the age of consent in Queensland is 16.
• They feel pressured, threatened, intimidated or feel that they cannot say no.
• They do not have the capacity to understand the nature of the activity.
• The person has a mistaken belief about the nature of the activity.
• The person has a mistaken belief about the identity of the other person.

Any kind of sexual activity that occurs without consent is considered sexual assault.

Sexual coercion happens when you are pressured, misled, manipulated, threatened or forced in a non-physical way to engage in any kind of sexual activity. Sexual activity that occurs as a result of coercion is not sex, it is sexual assault.

Sexual coercion can look like:

• Making threats (For example, threatening to end the relationship if the other person does not have sex with them).
• Making someone scared to refuse sex because of what the other person might do, such as:
  • spreading rumours;
  • using physical violence;
  • sharing private information; or
  • taking away financial support, children or pets.
• Verbally pressuring someone into sex.
• Using guilt, begging or humiliation to tire someone out.
• Lying or promising things that are not true.

• Emotional violence: making a person feel scared, intimidated or worthless. It can include making threats to harm another person, children or pets, being verbally abusive and blaming the person experiencing the abuse.
• Psychological violence: using manipulation tactics to make a person feel insane, or question their memory or judgement.
• Financial violence: controlling a person’s access to money or their ability to make financial decisions for themselves. It can include making a person ask to spend money on basic items such as clothing, food and petrol, or interfering with their employment or ability to attain employment.
• Physical violence: using physical force against another person. It can include pushing, hitting, punching, choking, throwing objects and damaging property.
• Sexual violence: any kind of forced or unwanted sexual activity.
• Social abuse: isolating a person from their social network. This might include not allowing a person to see their friends, family, or colleagues, trying to turn someone’s friends or family against them, controlling social plans, or controlling someone’s ability to contact their friends or family.
• Reproductive abuse: controlling a person’s ability to make choices about their reproductive system and reproductive health. Some examples include controlling someone’s access to birth control, making someone have unprotected sex, forcing or pressuring someone to become pregnant or continue a pregnancy, limiting someone’s access to healthcare (e.g. STI testing, pap smears), or forcing or pressuring someone to have an abortion.
• Technological abuse: using technology to monitor or control another person. It can include tracking someone through the use of surveillance technology, limiting someone’s ability to contact others via phone or internet, checking someone’s internet or phone activity, sending abusive messages, making abusive phone calls or sharing intimate images of another person without their consent.
• Coercive control: a pattern of behaviour that isolates a person from their support network, restricts their freedom or makes them live in fear due to constant monitoring, threats or intimidation. Coercive control might not involve any physical violence, but often has extreme impacts on a person’s mental health and everyday life.

Stalking involves paying someone unwanted attention in a way that frightens them, makes them feel in danger or prevents them from freely going about their life. Stalking is a crime in Queensland.
Stalking can include behaviours such as:

• following a person;
• hanging around where someone works or lives;
• repeatedly contacting someone;
• sending someone unwanted gifts at home or at work;
• sending someone offensive or humiliating material;
• intimidating or harassing someone; or
• threatening violence against someone.

The non-consensual removal, or non-use, of a condom (or any other barrier) during sex. Stealthing is a form of sexual assault.

Drink spiking refers to putting alcohol or drugs into someone's drink without their knowledge or consent. When people hear the term 'spiking' they often think of someone sneaking drugs into an alcoholic drink. However, spiking can also include putting alcohol into a non-alcoholic drink or putting extra alcohol into an alcoholic drink. Regardless of whether it's done as a 'joke' or with malicious intent, spiking is against the law.

The use of technology to frighten, control, threaten or intimidate someone.
Some examples of technology-facilitated abuse include:

• Sharing or threatening to share intimate/sexualised images or videos of someone without their consent (this is also called image-based abuse).
• Tracking someone’s location without their consent (this could be through the use of apps or GPS tracking devices).
• Monitoring internet or phone use.
• Threatening, intimidating or abuse phone calls, emails or messages.
• Installing spyware on someone’s smartphone or computer.
• Spreading rumours about someone or impersonating them online.
   

For more information about technology-facilitated abuse, visit the eSafety Commissioner.

The repeated less favourable treatment of a person by another or others, which may be considered unreasonable or inappropriate, and which may or may not be based on an Attribute.

Bullying often involves a misuse of power. It may occur between people of any gender. It can also occur between Supervisor and staff, co-workers, students and between students and staff.

Bullying may be subtle or overt and can include, but is not limited to, the following forms of behaviour:

1. Abusive and offensive language or shouting;
2. Repeated unreasonable criticism about work or academic performance, often about petty or insignificant matters;
3. Deliberate exclusion, isolation or alienation of a staff member or student;
4. Allocation of humiliating or demeaning tasks, or sabotaging a person's work;
5. Setting of impossible deadlines with unrealistic expectations of work;
6. Spreading gossip or false and malicious rumours with an intent to cause harm to a person;
7. Sarcasm or ridicule;
8. Threatening gestures or actual violence;
9. Inappropriate comments about personal appearance;
10. Electronic harassment such as through email or SMS; or
11. Hazing or bastardisation (such as harmful or humiliating initiation rituals). A reasonable and lawful direction of a Supervisor will not constitute bullying.

Appropriate provisions of guidance, conducting performance counselling, invoking diminished performance procedures, unsatisfactory performance procedures or misconduct procedures does not constitute bullying. Managers and Lecturers are expected to offer constructive advice and comment as a legitimate aspect of their role.

Behaviour that constitutes Bullying may also constitute Gender-based Violence.

Less favourable treatment, or proposed less favourable treatment of a person on the basis of an Attribute, including Direct Discrimination or Indirect Discrimination.

Behaviour that constitutes Discrimination may also constitute Gender-based Violence.

Direct Discrimination

Occurs on the basis of one (or more) of the Attributes, if a person treats, or proposes to treat, a person with an Attribute less favourably than another person without the Attribute is or would be treated in circumstances that are the same or not materially different.

Indirect Discrimination

Occurs on the basis of one (or more) of the Attributes, if a person imposes, or proposes to impose, a term:

1. With which a person with an Attribute does not or is not able to comply; and
2. With which a higher proportion of people without the Attribute comply or are able to comply; and
3. That is not reasonable.

Whether a term is reasonable depends on all relevant circumstances of the case, including for example:

1. The consequences of failure to comply with the term; and
2. The cost of alternative terms; and
3. The financial circumstances of the person who imposes, or proposes to impose, the term. It is not necessary that the person imposing, or proposing to impose, the term is aware of the indirect discrimination.

‘Term' includes condition, requirement or practice whether or not written.

Behaviour that constitutes Discrimination may also constitute Gender-based Violence.