Le 19 mai dernier, plusieurs membres de notre communauté ont participé à une discussion animée en présence de notre conférencière invitée : Melissa Mollen Dupuis. Cette rencontre s’inscrivait dans le cadre de notre Congrès pancanadien de partage des compétences visant à prévenir et contrer la violence fondée sur le genre au sein des établissements d’enseignement postsecondaire canadiens, soit la toute première conférence visant à prévenir et contrer la violence fondée sur le genre tenue à l’échelle du pays.

Cette série d’articles de blogue en deux parties développe à partir des recommandations clés émises dans le rapport fondateur du projet en offrant un regard plus approfondi sur le travail important qui s’effectue dans les établissements d’enseignement postsecondaire francophones à travers le pays pour lutter contre la violence fondée sur le genre sur les campus et la prévenir. Il faut beaucoup de courage pour agir et c’est avec beaucoup de gratitude que nous apprenons et que nous travaillons à vos côtés.

Une manifestation de violence sexuelle s’est déroulée sur votre campus et l’enquête menée a permis de conclure que la politique relative aux violences sexuelles de votre établissement d’enseignement postsecondaire a été enfreinte par la personne mise en cause. Vous êtes responsable de prendre les décisions relatives à ces cas et vous voulez donc vous assurer de rendre des décisions avec soin. À cet effet, vous vous questionnez sur les meilleures façons d’atteindre un équilibre entre la justice procédurale, la prise en compte des traumatismes et la réduction des préjudices subis.

Cela fait déjà près d’une décennie que les associations étudiantes québécoises sont au-devant de la vague afin de dénormaliser, prévenir ainsi que combattre les violences sexistes et sexuelles dans les milieux d’enseignement supérieur. Convaincues que tout changement de culture se doit de passer par l’éducation, celles-ci ont fait de l’application de la Loi visant à prévenir et combattre les violences à caractère sexuel dans les établissements d’enseignement supérieur leur cheval de bataille des dernières années auprès du gouvernement québécois.

Courage to Act is developing resources to support frontline gender based violence (GBV) support workers in post secondary institutions (PSIs) in Canada, and we need your help! Key findings in Possibility Seeds’ landmark report, Courage to Act: Developing a National Framework to Prevent and Address Gender-Based Violence at Post-Secondary Institutions, included the urgent need for comprehensive tools around intake processes for PSIs to address gender based violence.

A community for student leaders, campus educators, counsellors, and student affairs professionals, human resources specialists, conduct officers, to explore promising practices to work with campus community members who have caused harm.

When I stepped into my role as the Sexual Violence Prevention and Response Coordinator at the University of Prince Edward Island (UPEI) in October 2018, I was tasked with creating an office from the ground up. It was exciting but overwhelming. To cope with the overwhelm, I resorted to what many of us do: list-making.

Halfway through your Friday night bartending shift, a customer approaches you at the bar. “I need help”, they say - “my date is being really creepy and I don’t know how to -”. Just then, a man comes up behind them and asks if everything’s ok. It’s clear that the customer wanted your help, but what do you do next?

Sexual violence (“SV”) is both an individual and a community-based issue. It can involve one survivor and one perpetrator, or multiples of each; it can also affect those involved in the lives of survivors, from family and friends to colleagues and professors. For this reason, we wish to compile a list of resources by region (specifically the Atlantic provinces in this post) to help those affected by sexual violence find support when and where they need it.

The third in a four part series by region, this guide lists all the campus sexual violence support and prevention offices at post-secondary institutions in Ontario and Québec. We hope this list will help increase awareness of the resources and supports available, facilitate knowledge-sharing, and create a connected national network of experts working to end gender-based violence at post-secondary institutions in Canada. Click here to read more!

Racialized misogyny led to the recent murders of six Asian American women in Atlanta, and in Canada, we have witnessed a disturbing increase in the number of hate crimes against Asian Americans since the start of the pandemic. Courage to Act has created a list of resources for gender-justice advocates to challenge Anti-Asian racism. We invite gender justice advocates at Canadian PSIs to read, engage and implement action plans with the help of the resources linked.

En décembre dernier, Ihssane Fethi nous présentait un webinaire intitulé « Les violences fondées sur le genre dans un contexte de diversité culturelle ». Vous avez été nombreux et nombreuses à nous écrire pour nous faire part de votre appréciation toute particulière de ce webinaire. Si jamais vous n’avez pas encore eu la chance de visionner le tout, vous trouverez ici un court résumé des faits saillants abordés lors de la présentation.

The third in a four part series by region, this guide lists all the campus sexual violence support and prevention offices at post-secondary institutions in Ontario and Québec. We hope this list will help increase awareness of the resources and supports available, facilitate knowledge-sharing, and create a connected national network of experts working to end gender-based violence at post-secondary institutions in Canada. Click here to read more!

The Atwater Library and Computer Centre in Québec just launched an evaluation toolkit for projects that address rape culture on Canadian campuses. This toolkit includes ideas and strategies on making evaluation more trauma-informed, and includes sections on the potential of arts-based evaluation, and the importance of participant-led evaluation. This toolkit will also be available in French in the coming weeks. We invite you to read more, and access the toolkit here.

Essential Elements for Non-Punitive Accountability: a Workbook for Understanding Alternative Responses to Campus Gender-Based Violence was created by Courage to Act's Towards a Justice That Heals Community of Practice. The workbook provides a framework for non-punitive (restorative, transformative, and community) accountability practices. Applying a principles-based approach adaptable to any size or type of PSI, it lays out the essentials for ethical use of non-punitive accountability options, and provides resources, cases and reflection exercises to help PSIs move towards its use.

Pathways for Engagement: Institutional and Program-level Considerations to Engage Men and Prevent Sexualized and Gender-Based Violence on Post Secondary Campuses was created by Courage to Act's Engaging Men on Campus Community of Practice. This toolkit offers key considerations, and emerging and promising practices to engage men. It asks questions like, "How do we get men to offer leadership in these issues while acknowledging that men in leadership positions can also be part of the problem? What does recruitment look like? How can these strategies be trauma-informed?"

Alors que les établissements d’enseignement postsecondaire subissent une pression sans précédent pour réviser leur approche à la violence sexuelle sur les campus, il est important de s’attarder à leur conception de la violence. Des 22 universités ontariennes, 10 comportent des politiques qui ne reconnaissent pas l’aspect genré de la violence sexuelle ni ses impacts intersectionnels sur les divers systèmes d’oppression. En revanche, les politiques des 12 autres universités mentionnent l’intersectionnalité, et 9 d’entre elles s’engagent à intégrer cette analyse dans leur effort de lutte contre la violence.

The Educators Community of Practice has developed a peer-facilitated workshop that will help graduate students develop practical skills around navigating power dynamics in academia and setting boundaries for healthy relationships. Our tool is designed to reflect the lived realities of diverse graduate student populations including those who identify as 2SLGBTQ+, BIPOC, and others that may be at an elevated risk of sexual and gender-based violence.

The Complaints Processes Community of Practice has created a Learning Hub—a repository of resources that can help anyone from students to administrators develop an appreciation for the tension between trauma-informed practice and procedural fairness, and the need to apply both in cases of sexual violence, particularly where a formal complaint is to be investigated and adjudicated.

Varsity athletes have a lot of power, visibility and influence on our campuses. GBV education and prevention programs that leverage the leadership of varsity athletes can help change campus culture, strengthen peer education and ensure that our campuses are built upon cultures of consent. Read more about Carleton's Champions for Change program, and Bailey and Daniel's tips on how to build and sustain this type of programming on your own campus!