Science in Australia Gender Equity (SAGE) is pleased to announce that the Australian National University has received its first Cygnet Award, recognising sustained institutional action to address gender-based violence (GBV) prevention and response.

The SAGE Cygnet Award celebrates the work member institutions undertake between Athena Swan accreditation cycles, and the award earned by the Australian National University reflects more than five years of evidence-based reform.

Gender-based violence remains a persistent challenge in Australian higher education. National surveys have consistently shown that of the students and staff that experience GBV, many do not report what has happened to them, reflecting systemic barriers including distrust in institutional processes, fear of retaliation, and a lack of awareness of available support.

In late 2025, the Australian Government introduced the National Higher Education Code to Prevent and Respond to Gender-based Violence, establishing for the first time a consistent set of expectations for universities to prevent, respond to, and be accountable for gender-based violence within their communities.

Dr Janin Bredehoeft, CEO of SAGE recognised the progress at the Australian National University: “Addressing gender-based violence in universities requires more than policy. It requires systemic and cultural change, and that takes sustained effort and action. SAGE is pleased to recognise institutions like ANU that are doing that work thoughtfully, and to see the sector as a whole moving in a clearer direction with the National Higher Education Code to Prevent and Respond to Gender-based Violence.”

Challenging harmful attitudes and improving institutional responses

The Australian National University’s Athena Swan Bronze Award identified disrespectful behaviours as a critical issue affecting the attraction, retention and progression of staff and students. The University sees this as the starting point for a long-term program of structural change.

The Respectful Relationships Working Group was established that year, alongside the first Sexual Violence Prevention Strategy and the Respectful Relationships Unit (RRU), created specifically to lead GBV prevention education and support across the community. The University’s first Sexual Misconduct Policy and Disclosure Form followed soon after, giving for the first time a consistent mechanism for understanding the scale of the problem it was trying to solve.

By 2021, more than 250 disclosures of sexual misconduct had accumulated since the Disclosure Tool’s introduction, exposing the limits of the University’s response capacity.

The Australian National University’s answer was to separate prevention from response: the newly formed Student Safety and Wellbeing team took on incident response and case management, expanding specialist staffing and bringing in a dedicated Nurse Practitioner, while the RRU was freed to focus solely on prevention.

As a result, disclosure response times fell to under 48 hours, and the University began building the kind of trauma-informed, person-centred support that had previously been delivered in a more ad hoc way.

In 2023, the University launched its Rights, Relationships and Respect (RRR) program, a multimodal education suite developed in close consultation with students. The program has since grown into a genuinely whole-of-community offering, with an RRR in Research module addressing the specific power dynamics of HDR supervision, and an RRR at Work module extending the same education to staff.

Strengthening awareness and understanding of disrespectful behaviour

While the prevalence of sexual harassment incidents at the University remains above the national average, the National Student Safety Survey data shows a 23.5 percentage point reduction since 2017, compared to a 17.9-point national reduction over the same period.

By the end of 2024, 11,184 students (47 per cent of the student body) had completed RRR training, and post-module surveys show 95 per cent of participants reporting increased trust in the Australian National University’s commitment to responding to incidents of sexual assault and harassment, with 96 per cent demonstrating clear awareness of the support services available to them.

With the redesigned RRR workshops launching in O-Week 2025, 45 trained Residential Mentors delivered sessions to more than 1,200 new residents in a single day, earning a 96 per cent endorsement rate from the students who participated.

Building trust through visible action

Behind those figures are people who describe a real shift in how confident and supported they feel.

One undergraduate student, reflecting on the RRR program in 2025, said: “The course provided clear, practical frameworks like the 5Ds of Bystander Intervention and detailed definitions of consent and respectful behaviour. I appreciated the realistic scenarios that helped me understand complex situations involving power dynamics and respectful relationships. The focus on available ANU support services was also very valuable. Overall, the course helped me feel more confident in knowing how to contribute to a safe and respectful community.”

An HDR supervisor who completed the R4 module in 2024 was similarly direct about its quality: “The applications are fantastic – not formulaic or kitsch/cheesy. They seem to be written by people with real, lived experience. I think these should be shared with other universities because they are far better than any I have seen before. The focus on victim-survivors is also great. We need to keep driving that home.”

And from inside the team doing the work, a staff member in Inclusive and Respectful Communities reflected in 2025: “Following the implementation of the Rights, Relationships and Respect program, I have observed an increase in shared community understanding of what constitutes sexual violence, as well as ANU care and support pathways. Furthermore, since the introduction of the Bystander Intervention workshop I’ve seen an increase in conversations about this topic, including at Executive levels, reflecting greater awareness and recognition of its importance.”

Laying the groundwork for a safer, fairer and more equitable future

The Australian National University’s SAGE Cygnet Award reflects progress built over several years through evidence, co-design with staff and students, and a willingness to be transparent about both progress and what remains to be done.

Australian National University Interim Vice-Chancellor, Professor Rebekah Brown, remarked, “What the Athena Swan framework asks of an institution – honest reflection on our systems, culture, and structures, and the commitment to meaningful and lasting change – is neither easy work nor is it quick work. The Cygnet Award recognises the foundations that have been built: prevention frameworks, response pathways, emerging culture change, and strengthened capability, all in service of a safer and more inclusive ANU for staff and students.”

Within the application, the University has set out a detailed future action plan that includes expanded staff training, a new Restorative Practices Program, and alignment with the incoming National Higher Education Code to Prevent and Respond to Gender-based Violence.

About the SAGE Cygnet Award

SAGE Cygnet Awards celebrate organisations that have demonstrated progress in making their workplaces more equitable by removing or reducing a barrier to inclusion. They must be able to show that these changes have had a real impact on staff and/or students.  

This builds on the Australian National University’s Athena Swan Bronze Award in 2019. 

You can read all about the Australian National University’s actions, outcomes, and impact in the full Cygnet Award Application, or read an overview in the Progress and Impact Summary. 

About SAGE

Science in Australia Gender Equity (SAGE) is Australasia’s leading advocate and accrediting body for equity, diversity, and inclusion in the education and research sector. It is the guide our region’s brightest minds turn to when they want a vibrant workplace where everyone can thrive.

Using an evidence-based and impact-focused framework, SAGE helps institutions build systemic, structural, and cultural change. Their world-respected Athena Swan accreditation program drives and measures institutions’ progress against international benchmarks.