Taking Action for Campus Safety: 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence
Today, November 25, marks the beginning of the annual 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence (GBV), a global movement calling for action to eliminate violence against women and gender-diverse people. Running from November 25, International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, to December 10, Human Rights Day, this campaign unites individuals, organizations, communities and institutions worldwide in building a future free from violence.
Why This Matters
Youth aged 15-24 face the highest rates of sexual harassment, according to a 2020 report by Statistics Canada. This age group also comprises the majority of students on post-secondary campuses, highlighting a direct connection between sexual harassment and campus life.
National Statistics on Campus Sexual and Gender-Based Violence
In 2019, 71% of students witnessed or experienced unwanted sexualized behaviours in a post-secondary setting (Burczycka, 2020b).
In 2019, 1 in 10 students who were women were sexually assaulted in a post-secondary setting (Burczycka, 2020b).
In 2019, gay, lesbian and bisexual students reported being subjected to discrimination based on gender, gender identity or sexual orientation at two times the rate of heterosexual students. Transgender students (40%) also reported disproportionate rates of this type of discrimination compared to cisgender students (17%) (Burczycka, 2020a).
80% of sexual assaults in a post-secondary setting were committed by someone known to the survivor (Canadian Federation of Students, 2015).
Students are at the highest risk of sexual assault in the first few weeks of the academic year (Kimble et al., 2008).
In response, we’re spotlighting 7 essential resources for Campus GBV Workers to empower you in creating safer campuses!
7 Resources for Campus GBV Prevention
Courage Catalysts: Creating Consent Culture on Campus (A Toolkit by Students, for Students). This vibrant anthology with student stories and advocacy tools builds on a rich legacy of student organizing. It captures stories of advocating for safer campuses, provides concrete examples for student organizers to be inspired, and gives tools to create change on their campuses.
Education and Training Toolkit: Addressing and Preventing Gender-Based Violence at Post-Secondary Institutions. This toolkit is designed to engage and support the work of GBV prevention education at post-secondary institutions (PSIs). It offers campus educators a blueprint of prevention education possibilities through in-depth tools, resources, reflection questions, and much more.
A Comprehensive Guide to Campus Gender-Based Violence Complaints: Strategies for Procedurally Fair, Trauma-Informed Processes to Reduce Harm. This guide illustrates how trauma-informed practice and harm reduction measures strengthen procedural fairness in complaint processes. It maps out strategies to ensure that PSIs incorporate all three at every complaint stage to meet their obligations to create a safe and respectful working/learning/living environment.
Developing Academic Considerations for Students Affected by Sexual and Gender-Based Violence at Canadian Post-Secondary Institutions. This tool explores promising practices to mitigate the impacts of GBV trauma on a student’s academic experience. It offers a survivor-centred framework for developing academic considerations grounded in trauma-informed practice and guidance for supporting survivors through other administrative processes.
Supporting the Whole Campus Community: A Roadmap Tool for Working with People Who Have Caused Harm. This tool includes an Accountability Framework for working with people who have caused harm on campus. It offers principles, guidelines, and models to help PSIs develop campus-specific accountability processes, support services for people who’ve caused damage, and evaluate those processes and services.
Supporting International Students Affected by GBV: A Customizable Tool for International Students, Post-Secondary Administrators, and Frontline Workers. This customizable FAQ resource guide supports international students studying in Canadian post-secondary institutions who have experienced, witnessed, or perpetrated GBV. It provides information on services and support and answers questions about immigration and legal issues that international students may face.
You Matter Too: Self-Care Resources for Campus Gender-Based Violence Workers. Self-care resources designed for GBV workers, offering strategies to sustain long-term social change efforts without burnout.
These resources represent a starting point for addressing GBV on campuses and beyond. They encourage meaningful conversations and action, but sustained engagement is essential. Training, education, and professional development in GBV prevention can deepen knowledge and impact.
Explore our work and learn more at https://www.couragetoact.ca/elp-learning-guide.
References
Burczycka, M. (2020a). Students’ experiences of discrimination based on gender, gender identity or sexual orientation at postsecondary schools in the Canadian provinces, 2019. Statistics Canada. https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/85-005-x/2020001/article/00001-eng.htm
Burczycka, M. (2020b). Students’ experiences of unwanted sexualized behaviours and sexual assault at postsecondary schools in the Canadian provinces, 2019. Statistics Canada. https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/85-002-x/2020001/article/00005-eng.htm
Canadian Federation of Students–Ontario. (2015). Sexual assault: Factsheet. https://cfsontario.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Factsheet-SexualAssault.pdf
Kimble, M., Neacsiu, A. D., Flack, W. F., & Horner, J. (2008). Risk of unwanted sexual experiences on college campuses: Prevalence and predictors of victimization in first-year college women. Violence and Victims, 23(5), 581–598. https://www.union.edu/sites/default/files/titleix/202009/red-zone-2008.pdf
Perreault, S. (2020). Gender-based violence: Unwanted sexual behaviours in Canada’s territories, 2018. https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/85-002-x/2020001/article/00008-eng.htm