Weeks into the start of the new school year, colleges and universities are already under intense pressure from government officials and members of the public to change protocols for handling incidences of on-campus sexual assault in the wake of a number of incidents at Canadian institutions.
Last week, the University of Ottawa suspended its men’s hockey team after two players were charged with sexually assaulting a young woman in Thunder Bay. The assault took place in February, when the team was in town to compete against Lakehead University.
The victim, a 21-year-old woman, did not report the incident until the attackers were back at their home campus three weeks later.
It is not only administrative complications that hinder student assault victims in Canada; many sexual assault cases go unreported due to the social stigma and misunderstanding surrounding the issue of rape, resulting in the inability of many college students to fully understand the consequences of certain behaviors they engage in.
During this year’s orientation week at Carleton University, a number of students were photographed wearing t-shirts that said “Fuck Safe Space.” The students involved said that the original purpose of the shirts was to rebel against the pampering of first-year students. However, the message was interpreted by some as promoting rape culture and condemning the notion of the university providing a safe space for its students.
Legislative developments
In recent weeks, American governments have moved to reduce the prevalence of campus sexual assaults and change language around sexual consent.
On September 4, the California legislature passed a law that requires state colleges and universities to change or intensify their investigations of assault claims as a way of attempting to decrease the number of campus assaults. Bill SB967, or the Yes Means Yes bill, was also enacted with the intention of clarifying what constitutes sexual consent.
Under the bill, consent is defined as “an affirmative, unambiguous and conscious decision” from each participant wanting to engage in sexual activity, at every stage of that sexual activity. The bill is also part of a broader movement from traditional “no means no” consent language to “yes means yes.”
“Consent must be ongoing throughout a sexual encounter and can be revoked at any time,” the bill adds.
The Canadian Federation of Students (CFS) developed the No Means No campaign nearly 20 years ago to reduce the occurrence of sexual assault on college and university campuses.
California public and private secondary schools are also required to adopt a “victim-centered” approach to handling and enforcing policies set in place to not only prevent assaults, but to support victims by providing them with clear options for getting any help they may need.
California’s change in protocols is partly a response to a federal bill passed earlier in July. The new law was set in place to help manage the high number of assaults taking place on college campuses throughout the United Sates. It mandates that schools must conduct anonymous surveys in order to assess and make public the extent of sexual assaults taking place within their student populations.
The law also requires colleges to provide victims with any assistance they may need to help find closure, whether it is with reporting the assault and assuring proper actions are taking place to convict the attacker, or finding emotional support. If the college or university fails to comply with the new standards, one per cent of its operating budget will be cut as a consequence.
Legislative developments in the US were largely the result of a survey conducted by White House focus groups that found that one in five female college students had been assaulted at some point during their academic careers. Public protest from local communities, campus organizations, and assault victims also spurred the changes.
In Canada, the occurrence of on-campus sexual assault is even more frequent. According to surveys conducted by York University, four out of five female undergraduates disclosed that they had been assaulted, with only 29 per cent of them reporting the incident and only six per cent notifying the police.
“Proactive approach”
At U of T, the degree to which sexual assault is a problem on campus is still largely unknown — at least to the public. However, the university is taking steps towards promoting policy changes and making more information available for students.
For example, Ask First, a campaign established in 2007, provides resources and materials to increase awareness of sexual assault and inform students on consent.
U of T also provides an on-campus Assault Centre, Sexual Education Centre (SEC), and psychological services for victims of rape and sexual assault.
Najiba Ali Sardar, vice-president, equity, of the University of Toronto Students’ Union (UTSU) called on students to engage in open dialogue about the meaning of consent.
“It is our job to encourage these discussions amongst students. We try to take a proactive approach by holding various equity workshops in our clubs training, workshops, and events we are invited to in order to remind our members what consent looks like,” said Sardar.
However, Rachel Costin, SEC’s public relations representative, said the university’s legislative policies around sexual assault were still in need of improvement. “There is no clear strategy for handling assault cases,” she said.
“Victims are often confused and do not know who to go to report their assault. They do not know if they should report to university officials or go seek help outside campus,” Costin added.
Althea Blackburn-Evans, U of T director of media relations, said the university offers a number of on-campus resources aimed at informing students on issues around consent, including the Draw The Line program, which educates students on how to spot sexual violence and empowers them to make a difference.
In an attempt to elicit change in the university’s policies, the UTSU said it is working to establish additional workshops and information sessions, particularly for first-year students.
“If all first-year students were required to attend a mandatory workshop discussing safety on campus, respect, consent, rape culture, and so forth during Orientation Week, we would hopefully see increasing change. We must take an intersectional approach to these issues, being aware of things like intimate partner violence, the problematic sexualizations of racialized women, indigenous women, [and] transwomen,” Sardar said, adding: “These measures would be a positive step forward.”
Costin echoed Sardar. “It is about information and communication,” Costin said.
“Students need to understand what constitutes as consent and what constitutes as assault. Universities need to support…victims by providing them with clear administrative assistance and multiple avenues of emotional support so that they can plan their own way of finding closure,” she said.
