CASA: Students Release Collaborative Report on Campus Sexual Violence
Press Release
May 8, 2018
Toronto, Ontario – Student organizations across the country released a joint publication on campus sexual violence, titled Shared Perspectives: A Joint Publication on Campus Sexual Violence Prevention and Response.
In the publication, students from Victoria to Charlottetown express the need to eradicate sexual violence on their campuses. It includes contributions from the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations (CASA), Alliance of BC Students (ABCS), the College Student Alliance (CSA), the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance (OUSA), Union étudiante du Québec (UEQ), New Brunswick Student Alliance (NBSA), Students Nova Scotia (StudentsNS), and the University of Prince Edward Island Student Union (UPEISU).
“Improving resources for students to address sexual violence on and off campus is paramount,” said Aimee Calma, CSA president. “Ontario college students are proud to contribute our recommendations to this report and help lead the charge for this change in Canada.”
The publication identifies challenges and opportunities that exist in individual provinces, and looks past provincial borders to highlight sexual violence as a national problem that all jurisdictions must work to solve. Shared Perspectives provides an understanding of the issues students experience on campuses across our country, and emphasizes how we must work together at all levels to end sexual violence on post-secondary campuses across Canada.
Sexual violence is a systemic problem that affects us all, but students know that sexual violence is a gendered crime, in which women are far more likely to be victimized. Women with disabilities, Indigenous women, LGBTQ+ students, and women of marginalized groups, are at especially high risk of experiencing such crimes. The partners in this publication believe no one should ever be faced with sexual violence, especially when pursuing an education, yet at this time 1 in 5 female students will experience sexual violence during their post-secondary studies. Additionally, we know that of all the sexual assaults that take place on post-secondary campuses during the academic year, roughly two-thirds occur within the first 8 weeks of school. Students are a vulnerable group, and this publication illustrates how essential partnership is in combating the current campus reality and building safer communities.
“We hope our post-secondary institutions, communities and the legal system recognize what PSE students demand and need: invested participation, widespread education and complete transparency,” said Calma.
Shared Perspectives: A Joint Publication on Campus Sexual Violence Prevention and Response is the first joint report from all 8 partners, representing over 570,000 students collectively.
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About College Student Alliance:
College Student Alliance (CSA) advocates on behalf of Ontario college students in partnership with student leaders. Through our member student associations, CSA represents the collective voice of Ontario’s college students.
For more information, please contact:
Emmaline Scharbach
Communications Manager, College Student Alliance | communications@collegestudentalliance.ca | 416-340-1212
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