Uni Students To Trial 'Respectful Relationships' Program As O-Week Begins

University students across the country are being put on notice, with a new online respectful relationships program to be rolled out to curb violence against women.

With students returning to university for orientation weeks in the next fortnight, it serves as a timely reminder of the importance of consent, with agency Our Watch developing the program which will be targeted at this demographic.

"O Week is meant to be a time for new friendships and fun experiences before getting into study for the year - but we also want all students to be safe," Universities Australia chairwoman Margaret Gardner told AAP in a statement.

"I want to be very clear once again: to any student who thinks it's okay to have sex without the other person's consent, think again. It's not."

This follows the 2016 Human Rights Commission report which found that half of all students were victims of sexual harassment that year, with roughly one quarter occurring within the university environment.