Report & get support: inappropriate or threatening behaviour
Report a concern
If you or someone you know has experienced or witnessed any inappropriate or concerning behaviour, including sexual assault and/or sexual harassment you can report your concern online.
If you or someone you know has experienced or witnessed any inappropriate or concerning behaviour you can report it – either anonymously or with contact details.
Please do not hesitate to report an incident or concern, even if you think you don’t have enough information for Safer Community to action immediately.
This includes reports of any incident that has occurred off campus or online, if it affects you or the VU Community.
Emergency support
Please note Safer Community is not an emergency or crisis-response service.
If you require an immediate emergency response or after-hours assistance, call the following:
On campus: VU Security
+61
3 9919 6666
Off campus: state emergency services, call 000
Lifeline Australia 13 11 14 A crisis support service that provides short-term support at any time for people who are having difficulty coping or staying safe.
Kids Helpline 1800 55 1800 A free, private and confidential phone and online counselling service for young people aged 5 to 25 years old.
Beyond Blue 1300 22 4636 Provides support on a range of mental health issues and is available by phone, online via chat or email.
eheadspace 1800 650 890 Free online and telephone support and counselling for young people aged 12 to 25 years old, their families and friends.
Sane Australia 1800 187 263 Free online and telephone support and counselling for all aged people and their families and friends.
Suicide Call Back Service 1300 659 467 Offers free professional 24/7 telephone counselling support to people at risk of suicide, concerned about someone at risk, bereaved by suicide and people experiencing emotional or mental health issues.
Centre Against Sexual Assault (CASA) – Crisis Line 1800 806 292 A state-wide, after-hours, confidential, telephone crisis counselling service for people who have experienced both past and recent sexual assault.
1800 Respect 1800 737 732 Provides confidential sexual assault and family and domestic violence counselling via phone and webchat. Available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Safe Steps 1800 015 188 Victoria’s 24/7 family violence response centre for confidential crisis support, information and accommodation.
Note that you don’t have to give your name, but this may limit the actions the University can take and the support that can be offered to you.
Your report will be recorded and reviewed and appropriate action taken.
The information you give us on this form will be shared with a small group of staff from Safer Community who will assess how best the University can respond.
If you are a student, we will not share your report with anyone else unless one of these applies:
you provide us with your consent
there are very serious safety concerns and we are legally obligated to act immediately.
Usually, the senior coordinator or another member of Safer Community will contact you to discuss what can be done, within three University working days.
Safer Community will not normally take action without consulting you, nor treat your report as a complaint until we have contacted you.
If, however, there are serious safety and wellbeing concerns raised by your report we may need to take urgent action without asking you first. This may include notifying other people about what you’ve told us (such as Victoria Police and other staff within the University).
This is to make sure people are safe and protected, and to comply with our legal duties.
A senior coordinator or another member of Safer Community will provide you with support, advice and guidance.
The Safer Community member will contact you to:
gather additional information
develop an action plan or safety plan for you
provide you with a referral to internal or external support services
help you to understand your options, and if you choose to formalise your report to the University they will walk you through the process.
