Australian Human Rights Commission Australia and the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD), Shadow report to the CERD Committee – 8 July 2010 92. The Commission also notes the findings from the International Student Security Study conducted by Professor Simon Marginson, University of Melbourne and Professor Chris Nyland, Monash University. 84 This research is the largest interview based study (same size 200) of international students in Australia and it found that: • many of the respondents reported negative experiences in dealing with the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (time delays, nontransparent procedures and experiences of discrimination and hostile treatment) • just under two thirds of respondents experienced loneliness or isolation during their stay in Australia • nine out of ten respondents had friendships with other international students, while only 57 percent of respondents had even casual friendships with local students • fifty percent of respondents had experienced hostility or prejudice during their stay in Australia. Most frequently, respondents reported incidents of unprovoked abuse in public spaces such as on the street, in shopping centres or on public transport. Recommendation 29: That the Australian Government revisit the recommendations made in the Commissions Report of National Inquiry into Racist Violence in Australia in 1991. 85 Recommendation 30: That the Australian Government: (I) broaden the parameters of the ESOS Act to include on campus student safety (II) language foundations (III) social support. Recommendation 31: That the COAG International Student Strategy provides a regulatory framework that involves states, territories and local governments in addressing issues relating to safety, accommodation, transport and discrimination. Recommendation 32: That the Australian Government compile national survey data on international students in Australia, particularly in relation to income and expenditure, housing experiences, employment discrimination and experiences of violence and sexual harassment. 7.4 African Australian communities (ICERD Articles 2,5) 93. In 2007 the Australian Human Rights Commission designed a report focusing on the experiences of African Australians. The report, entitled In Our Own Words, has an accompanying compendium. This is the first piece of research that considers the everyday experiences from a national perspective within a human rights context. 86 28