The Courage to Act Foundation mobilizes collaborative systems change to end sexual and gender-based violence, creating safer, more caring, and liberatory communities across Canada.
We co-design systems with institutions that foster consent.
We co-design systems with communities that foster care.
We co-design systems with survivors that foster liberation.
In 2018, Possibility Seeds was commissioned to lead Courage to Act (C2A), the first national initiative to address and prevent gender-based violence on Canadian campuses. Since then, the Courage to Act project has collaborated with 4800+ survivors, students, researchers, community leaders, policymakers, and institutions to develop 80+ cutting-edge resources and strategies to end campus gender-based violence. The Courage to Act Foundation was founded to advance this work. We nourish impactful, nationwide change in gender-based violence intervention, prevention, and institutional safety.
OUR IMPACT SO FAR
1.8 m+
post-secondary students benefited from Courage to Act (C2A) work.
50k+
downloads of 83 C2A resources from across the world.
6092
people engaged in our professional development opportunities.
4800+
experts and advocates joined the C2A network.
200+
post-secondary institutions engaged with C2A work.
79
webinars and skillshare opportunities were developed.
NATIONAL STATISTICS ON CAMPUS GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE
41%
of all reported incidents of sexual assault were reported by students.
1 in 10
women experienced sexual assault in a postsecondary setting.
⅘
undergraduate students reported experiencing dating violence.
71%
of students either witnessed or experienced unwanted sexualized behaviours in a postsecondary setting.
47%
of post-secondary students witnessed or experienced discrimination based on gender, gender identity or sexual orientation in the past year.
2M
Canadians aged 15 years and older (8% of women and 5% of men) reported being stalked in the preceding five years.
19%
of women aged 15-64 reported they experienced at least one type of harassment in the workplace in the past 12 months (2020).
13%
of men aged 15-64 reported they experienced at least one type of harassment in the workplace in the past 12 months (2020).
2x
women with disabilities are twice as likely as women without disabilities to have been sexually assaulted.
+ References
- 41% of all reported incidents of sexual assault were reported by students (Statistics Canada, 2017)
- 19% of women aged 15-65 reported they experienced at least one type of harassment in the workplace in the last 12 months (Statistics Canada, 2018a)
- 13% of men aged 15-65 reported they experience at least one type of harassment in the workplace in the past 12 months. (Statistics Canada, 2018a)
- 4 out of 5 undergraduate students surveyed at Canadian universities reported experiencing dating violence (DeKeseredy, 2011)
- 2x women with disabilities are twice as likely as women without disabilities to have been sexually assaulted (DisAbled Women’s Network, 2019)
- 2M Canadians aged 15 years and older (8% of women and 5% of men) reported being stalked in the preceding five years. (Statistics Canada, 2018b)
- 71% of students at Canadian postsecondary schools either witnessed or experienced unwanted sexualized behaviours in a postsecondary setting. (Burczycka, Canadian Centre for Justice and Community Safety Statistics, 2020, p. 3)
- 1 in 10 women experienced a sexual assault in a postsecondary setting during the previous year. (Burczycka, 2020, p. 3)
- 47% of students at Canadian post-secondary institutions witnessed or experienced discrimination on the basis of gender, gender identity or sexual orientation in the past year. (Burczycka, 2020, p. 4)
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AT THE ROOT
Over the next 16 months, the Courage to Act Foundation will work on At the Root: A Systems Change Approach to Addressing Sexual Harassment in STEM-focused Experiential Learning. At the Root will scale the work of the Courage to Act project to address sexual harassment faced by women and gender-diverse post-secondary students in STEM-focused experiential learning.
COURAGE TO ACT REPORT
There is an unprecedented conversation in North America on gender-based violence at post-secondary institutions right now. Survivors, administrators, student advocates, parents, faculty and staff, and gender-based violence organizations are pushing for transformative change. The Courage to Act report (2019) centres on listening to these calls to action.
RESEARCH-TO-ACTION
We’re developing new evidence-based tools to respond to sexual harassment in STEM-focused experiential learning settings.
Stay tuned for more information and opportunities to contribute to this vital research!
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