Statement attributable to Professor Glyn Davis AC, University of Melbourne Interim Vice-Chancellor:
The University of Melbourne acknowledges the release of the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) Report.
The Report is confronting reading and reiterates the destructive impact of racism in all its forms.
It highlights the importance of recognising, preventing and responding to racist behaviours and their effects on our people.
We are a widely diverse community. We will continue building trust so our students and staff have confidence that when they speak up against racism, their concerns will be heard and acted upon.
We must redouble our efforts to ensure our campuses are safe, welcoming places for everyone in our community, free of racism in all its forms.
Through our University of Melbourne Anti-Racism Action Plan, work underway to combat racism includes:
- An Annual Report on Racism to publicly document and make visible our anti-racism priorities and progress, along with complaints and reports of racism.
- Resources for educators on creating anti-racist classrooms and responding to racism in learning spaces
- An all-staff Indigenous Cultural Education Program, Gahgook, to build cultural capability and drive long-term cultural change
- An Indigenous Student Campus Barometer Survey to better understand the lived experiences of Indigenous students
- A Critical Conversations Racial Literacy Education Program
We continue to urge students or staff who have experienced racism at university to seek support and report their experience through our Safer Community program.
The University thanks the AHRC for the opportunity to participate in this important survey, as well as those who contributed their experiences.
