On April 29, the Prevention, Empowerment, Advocacy, Response for Survivors (PEARS) Project and CUPE 3902 –– the union for contract academic workers at U of T –– held a “Survivors Deserve Better” protest, disrupting a Faculty of Music meeting.

The protest coincided with U of T’s ongoing 2025 review of its Policy on Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment.

The protest 

At 11:30 am, around 30 protesters gathered at Sidney Smith Hall, carrying banners and signs with phrases such as “No more silence, no more violence” and “UofT protects predators.” Campus Safety officers in uniform and plain clothes were present throughout the protest.

The group then marched to the Faculty of Music’s Edward Johnson Building, where some protesters entered a meeting of the Faculty Council in room 130. 

The protesters called to the meeting of staff, students, alumni, and others, stating, “You can sit here and remain complicit, or you can join the group of students and survivors outside.” Attendees responded to protesters saying, “Stop the lying,” “This is insulting,” and “You are uninformed.” No meeting members joined the protesters.

The protest concluded at Simcoe Hall with speeches, chalk, and pizza.

PEARS’ demands

On April 27, PEARS made an Instagram post outlining five demands ahead of the protest: provide meaningful support to survivors, create funds for survivors, fire predatory professors, implement survivor-centric policy review recommendations to the Policy on Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment, and ban student-faculty relationships.

“These aren’t new demands. They aren’t new from me. They aren’t new from PEARS. They aren’t new from survivors and students on campus,” said Micah Kalisch, founder of the PEARS Project and graduate student at the Women & Gender Studies Institute.

Kalisch continued, “I hope they decide it’s time to take us seriously, because we’re not going anywhere, and the longer they wait to make these changes, the more severe our tactics become.”

Background

PEARS published their 2025 policy recommendations this March with funding from the University of Toronto Students’ Union and the University of Toronto Graduate Students’ Union, outlining “ongoing contradictions, conflicts, and oppressive practices” within U of T’s current policies, particularly the Policy on Sexual Violence and Harassment.

In a statement to The Varsity, a U of T spokesperson wrote, “Open [policy] consultations took place during the winter 2025 term, with multiple opportunities for interested members of the university community, including students, to provide feedback. Professor Faye Mishna, who is leading the consultations and review, will share with the university community the themes she heard via open sessions of governance meetings in May and June, and will convey these themes to the university administration.”

The Faculty of Music has been the subject of protest regarding sexual violence in the past. A 2021 open letter from students, alumni, faculty, and community members detailed the faculty’s “culture of misogyny, of fear of speaking out against sexual misconduct, and of systemic power abuse.” 

After the letter, the Faculty of Music commissioned an external Climate and Culture review, which found “many participants described experiencing sexism, sexual harassment, and/or sexual violence in the Faculty.” The Dean of the Faculty of Music, Ellie Hisama, accepted all recommended actions of the review in 2022.

If you or someone you know has been affected by sexual violence or harassment at U of T:

  • Visit svpscentre.utoronto.ca for information, contact details, and hours of operation for the tri-campus Sexual Violence Prevention & Support Centre. Centre staff can be reached by phone at 416-978-2266 or by email at [email protected].
  • Call Campus Safety Special Constable Service to make a report at 416-978-2222 (for U of T St. George and U of T Scarborough) or 905-569-4333 (for U of T Mississauga)
  • Call the Women’s College Hospital Sexual Assault/Domestic Violence Care Centre at 416-323-6040
  • Call the Scarborough Health Network Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence Care Centre at 416-495-2555
  • Call the Assaulted Women’s Helpline at 1-866-863-0511