The questionnaire, conducted by the National Union of Students’ Women’s Department, surveyed about 1360 female students from universities around Australia on a range of issues, from accommodation to student services to safety.

The findings, presented in the union’s biannual Talk About It report, provide a snapshot of the experiences of women enrolled in tertiary education.

Safety was highlighted as a major concern, with more than 70 per cent of respondents indicating they had experienced some form of sexual harassment while studying.

Of those students, 53.24 per cent indicated the harassment took the form of staring or leering, followed by suggestive comments or jokes (47.8 per cent) and intrusive questions or comments about their private lives (36.86 per cent).

The incidents most commonly occurred in public spaces on campus, such as libraries and classrooms.

The survey asked those who had indicated they had experienced harassment whether they had reported it to university officials or police. Just 5.5 per cent reported it to the university and 4.8 per cent to police.

An overwhelming 81.15 per cent of respondents thought the matter wasn’t serious enough to report, while 42.96 per cent thought they could handle the matter themselves.

But the University of Newcastle issued a statement assuring its students were safe, with “robust policies, procedures and services” in place to “support student well-being and manage conduct”.

“This framework assists the university to respond appropriately to breaches of the university’s rules and regulations and to provide support services for students who have been the target of inappropriate behaviour,” the statement said.

National Union of Students president Sinead Colee said the survey had a number of implications for university student services.

“When such a large number of women are still feeling that their cases are not serious enough to report, universities need to have a complete overhaul of what can be very haphazard reporting processes and provide improved safety measures, such as increased lighting and security,” she said.

“It is clear, now more than ever, that universities must do more for women on campuses so that they feel safe and able to complete their studies.”