The Canberra Times argues that it is one thing to promise to do better and another to take real action to prevent sexual assault and harassment in universities.
The Canberra Times points out that promising to do better is one thing and backing those words up with the actions needed to reduce sexual assault and harassment in universities is another.
It also argues that Australia's universities have failed in their duty of care and they should commit to a follow up review within five years to regain their credibility.
The paper expresses concern that the figures may just be the tip of an iceberg given only 31,000 of the 60,000 students invited nationally to take part by the HRC responded.
In 2016, the National Students Union released a report that found almost three-quarters of female university students had been sexually assaulted or harassed.
Both studies came years after the "Skype" scandal at the Australian Defence Force Academy.
The paper criticizes the lack of action by the universities as they should have rung alarm bells in the wake of such occurrences. On top of that, when assaults did occur, they all too often failed to offer the victims the support they needed and deserved.
The Canberra Times pointedly says this situation must be closely monitored to ensure it gets better, not worse in the years to come.
