Australian universities are too often failing to support victims of sexual assault and harassment - and in some cases have engaged in "actively covering up" accusations to protect their own reputations, say campaigners.

In its new report "Connecting the Dots", the group End Rape on Campus Australia (EROC) alleges universities have inadequate support mechanisms and response policies, and of delegating responsibility to untrained staff.  It details "the disproportionate and devastating impact" of sexual assaults on students, most of whom are female.

"Alarmingly, many universities are compounding this trauma by failing to support survivors and, in some cases, actively seeking to silence them," said Professor Catharine Lumby of Macquarie University.  "Too often, our universities have dealt with sexual assault and harassment of students by turning a blind eye, by claiming it is not their responsibility or, most shamefully, by actively covering up assaults. It is time to face the evidence and put a full stop to harassment and assault on campus."

One in five women above age 15 have experienced sexual assault, as have one in 25 men; the greatest risk occurs at the typical university age, according the the Australian Bureau of Statistics.  But attempts to study the prevalence of sexual assault on campus have been "blocked or undermined amid reputational concerns from the institutions", says the EROC report.

"We have definitely worked with some students whose universities have tried to cover up their assaults, have tried to silence them," said EROC's Sharna Bremner.  "Those sorts of things are happening on a much more regular basis I think than any of us expected.  We have had a number of staff from universities advise us these sorts of things are going on too."

"Universities are taking academic misconduct such as plagiarism much more seriously than rape," said Isabella Brook of the University of Sydney's Student Representative Council.  "It is really disappointing they are not supporting survivors. It seems to be about avoiding bad publicity."