The head of an Australian National University-affiliated college has apologised for "insensitive" comments made on the results of a large-scale university sexual assault survey after facing a backlash from students and a survivor advocacy group.
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John XXIII College students spoke out against comments made by Geoff Johnston to The Canberra Times in which he said the Human Rights Commission's survey captured "only 2.9 per cent of all students in Australia, and it wasn't a random sample".
College residents' association president Lauran Clifton said she read the comments with "disappointment and disgust" before speaking with Mr Johnston about her concerns.
"Whether he believes they're valid or not, there's evidence to suggest there is an issue and our focus at this point in time should not be whether the results are valid or not," she said.
"I think to question them really is ignorant and ignores the issue and it kind of dismisses all responsibility of the administration and pushes it almost on to students, where the issue does lie in the fact that administration has systematically failed."
Data released by the ANU revealed there were 116 sexual assaults among students last year, including 52 on campus. More than 1470 ANU students responded to the sector-wide survey.
Independent analysis referenced in the Change the Course report said the sector-wide data was "derived from a sample of the target population who were motivated to respond, and who made an autonomous decision to do so", adding it may not have been representative of the whole student population.
It said there may have been an overestimation of rates of sexual assault and sexual harassment experienced by male university students but found no "response bias" in relation to the results of female students.
John XXIII students and Mr Johnston released a joint statement on Monday saying the two had patched up their differences.
Mr Johnston said: "The article need not have focused on the validity of the results.
"There is an issue, in universities and in residential colleges, and we as an admin, in consultation with student leaders, need to present a united front.
"For the hurt that these comments have caused, I am sorry."
End Rape on Campus Australia ambassador Nina Funnell said the advocacy group found the comments "deeply unhelpful".
"At this point in time there are many sexual assault survivors all over the country who are grieving and who are struggling to process what's in that report," she said.
"For anyone to suggest or imply that the figures are inflated will be experienced as deeply uncomfortable, particularly by the survivor community who already feel their experiences are often minimised by those in power."
John XXIII has expelled about seven students in the past two years, Mr Johnston said last week, including five men who took photos of women's busts to rate in a Facebook message thread.
Ms Clifton said she felt the culture at John XXIII had changed over the past several years with fellow third year students differentiating between the "old Johns and new Johns".
"That is not ignoring that we have had issues in the past but I think these issues aren't necessarily specific to Johns, I think they're specific to residential communities at large," she said.
Student leadership within the college has made nine demands, including that Mr Johnston and the John XXIII board apologise to sexual assault survivors who lived in the college in the past 50 years.
Each of the dozen residential halls associated with the ANU are expected to participate in an upcoming review.
