Abstract
The Ontario government recently mandated all universities and colleges in Ontario, Canada to create a sexual violence policy that involves student input. Using a small commuter university in southwestern Ontario as a case study, this article examined student perceptions of an existing university sexual violence policy. More specifically, we conducted online qualitative research with seventeen students using an open-ended inductive, exploratory instrument. We asked students to read and define aspects of their university’s sexual violence policy in their own words. The objective of this research was to examine if students adequately comprehended the language of the policy, how to report, who to report to, feel safe reporting, and whether or not they find the reporting process supportive of their needs. Also discussed are student recommendations for what they would like to see in university sexual violence policies.
Highlights
In Canada, young women and LGBTQA continue to experience high rates of sexual violence, as demonstrated by the #Metoo movement (CWF, n.d.)
Sections of the policy that listed definitions of sexual assault, consent, and sexual violence were provided to the participants to read
The definition of sexual assault provided by the institution was extensive and included all the main points as defined by the Criminal Code of Canada
Summary
In Canada, young women and LGBTQA continue to experience high rates of sexual violence, as demonstrated by the #Metoo movement (CWF, n.d.). Given that many young women and LGTBQA pursue post-secondary education, campus sexual violence is something that postsecondary institutions need to address. The reporting of campus sexual violence remains low (Sheehy & Gilbert, 2015). There are no national standards for addressing sexual violence on Canadian post-secondary campuses. Aside from some recent provincial legislation in Ontario and British Columbia, post-secondary institutions are responsible for their response to campus sexual violence (Ammar, Frederick, Marques, O’Connor & Scott, 2016; Gunraj, Wandio, METRAC & Canadian Electronic Library, 2015; Sheehy & Gilbert, 2015). There are limited research on-campus response protocols in Canada or on how students themselves understand campus sexual violence policies (Ammar et al, 2016)
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