The University of British Columbia (UBC) will look to tackle gender-based violence and aboriginal stereotypes following the recommendations of a president’s task force.
UBC president and vice-chancellor Stephen Toope created the 12-member task force in November 2013 to address chants promoting rape and sexual violence during the school’s Commerce Undergraduate Society frosh events in September.
“We are at a critical juncture,” Toope said in a press release. “I believe this report will spur our community to deepen an important reflection and take another step toward authentic respect and equality.”
The task force aimed to address “the attitudes and lack of understanding related to gender-based violence, as well as the trivialization of Aboriginal cultures,” the release stated.
Its recommendations were categorized into four types of interventions, including university policies, strategic initiatives, curriculum and education, and community building, according to the release.
“I don’t believe we can single handedly reverse the current pop culture with its casual gender based violence,” UBC vice-president (students) and task force member Louise Cowin said in the release. “But we can certainly take more intentional bolder actions for our students, faculty, and staff here at UBC.”
The university stated the need for development of policies for an inclusive UBC campus. It said resources and support must be made available for faculty to set out clear goals, which would foster a respectful, and safe campus community.
It stated that topics of gender, indignity, race, ethnicity, and sexuality should be incorporated into education for the purposes of community building.
This would include developing a mandatory online pre-arrival orientation module for all new students, which incorporates the topics of intersectional gender-based violence, sexual assault, consent, aboriginal histories and cultures, racism, homophobia, colonialism, and ableism, according to the report.
