A culture of blaming victims of sexual assault has been uncovered at University of New England colleges with one young woman told she shouldn't have been drinking before she was attacked.
Another woman who complained about a boy who came into her room while she was sleeping and started kissing her was told by a resident fellow "you probably should just lock your door when you're asleep".
The culture of trivialising violence against women and blaming victims is detailed in an Australian Human Rights Commission report which examined the Armidale university's seven residential colleges.
UNE requested the review in the wake of explosive revelations in 2017 concerning the rates of sexual harassment at university colleges.
The commission's report found one-third of residents at UNE colleges who were surveyed had experienced sexual harassment while living there.
That rate was 2.5 times higher for women than men.
"A friend got really drunk one night and said one particular guy had assaulted her," one student said.
"She had gone to speak to the head of college who had said maybe she shouldn't have been drinking and putting herself in that position."
Hazing rituals were also examined with first-year women reportedly forced to run through a group while being slapped on the arse before being allowed into parties and others made to give lap dances to male students.
"A bunch of older gerro boys came down and found the smallest girl on the floor and made her do a beer bong ... they just kept putting stuff in and she was this little small girl on the floor and said 'Please stop', then they laughed at her and left," one student said.
A lack of understanding of what amounted to sexual harassment was also raised in the report.
"Guys need to understand that someone being so drunk you can't speak or stand without support means you can't give consent," one person said.
"I know a bunch of girls who have been touched, who have been kissed or raped when very, very, very drunk - beyond consent - these happened at college functions," another said.
The report made 28 recommendations to help UNE improve the culture on campus.
They included educating students in sexual assault and harassment prevention, installing CCTV cameras and employing qualified first responders to be available to students in the event they are harassed or attacked.
