Three male students were handed a report about sexual violence at uni. They ripped it to shreds.

At a University of Sydney student council meeting this week, three male students sparked outrage after tearing up The Red Zone Report—a document that highlights sexual violence, hazing, and harassment within university residential colleges.

This wasn't just any report. Created by End Rape on Campus Australia, The Red Zone Report includes chilling accounts from survivors, testimonies from family members, and photos of real incidents.

It highlights abusive hazing rituals that have reportedly taken place over nearly a century—incidents that survivors and advocates have courageously fought to bring to public attention.

Watch: University of Sydney students tear up sexual assault report. Article continues after video.

The report was meant to open a conversation about the toxic culture within these institutions.

During the SRC meeting, Women's Collective members Ellie Robertson and Martha Barlow discussed these findings and the recent expulsion of 27 students for a severe hazing incident at St Paul's College.

As they spoke, two students began tearing up the report, while a third tossed the pieces into the air, allegedly sneering, "no one cares."

Image: Honi Soit.

It is believed that the three students are affiliated with the Liberal Party. The shocking act, caught on camera during a student council meeting, left onlookers stunned.

Outgoing SRC president Harrison Brennan said the reports were also vandalised during the women's speech.

"As they were talking about the St Paul's issue... [some students] decided to shout back during the speeches and tear up The Red Zone report they were given," he said.

"I think [it] was pretty deplorable behaviour... it was profound and shocking that they were making a big spectacle of it.

"Just like the colleges themselves, these student representatives would prefer to ignore the problem of sexual violence altogether and pretend it doesn't exist. To this we say that the time is long past to sweep this under the rug."

Image: University of Sydney Women's Collective

'A slap in the face' for survivors.

The reaction has been fierce. The Women's Collective described the actions as "a slap in the face" to the students who had come forward to share their stories.

The university quickly launched an investigation, with Deputy Vice-Chancellor Joanne Wright expressing deep disappointment. "Any behaviour that mocks victim-survivors or ignores the impact of trauma resulting from sexual misconduct is absolutely unacceptable," she stated.

Even co-author of The Red Zone Report, Nina Funnell, was left appalled, saying the report contained the photos and real names of rape victims and family members of students who died because of hazing.

"The Red Zone Report documents almost 100 years of hazing and rape, as well as 3 deaths (including a murder) at USYD," she wrote on X.

"To laugh in their faces is not just callous, it's telling. It's a slap in the face to the survivors as well as families of those who didn't make it."

Survivor-advocate Jacinta Mortell spoke to news.com.au about reporting her sexual assault to the University of Newcastle to coincide with the public launch of The Red Zone Report in 2018, which she called "one of the hardest things I've ever done".

The footage from Wednesday night, Ms Mortell said, left her "horrified".

"They think it's funny to rip up a report that articulates the devastating sexual violence experienced by victim-survivors at universities and colleges across Australia for decades, and it blatantly shows how seriously they take these issues," she continued."It is a slap in the face to every survivor. It is a slap in the face to every person fighting for women's safety, both on campus and across the country."

NSW Liberal Party and SRC leaders condemn the act.

NSW Opposition Leader Mark Speakman, upon hearing the news, demanded an internal investigation within the state Liberal Party, as the three students are reportedly affiliated with the university's Liberal Club.

He said, "Any mocking of a report about such disturbing behaviour is in itself disgusting."

He noted that, despite ongoing attempts to reform and educate within the colleges, displays like this reinforce the need for further action.

In response, members of the Women's Collective are petitioning for legislative reforms to address the culture within colleges, pushing the NSW Government to consider real changes to the policies surrounding residential colleges.

"It's time for accountability," Robertson said.

"The elite culture that perpetuate abuse must change, and that starts with respecting the stories and pain of survivors. Universities are supposed to be safe spaces — not places where trauma is ignored and ridiculed."

The Women's Collective also noted that the incident demonstrates just how "unchanged" the culture remains, despite calls for reform and supposed training initiatives.

They're urging the university and state officials to implement stricter policies to protect students and hold colleges accountable.

This incident is just the latest in a series of calls to reform Sydney University's residential colleges, where deeply entrenched behaviours continue to have devastating effects on student safety and wellbeing.

Feature image: Honi Soit