The University of Winnipeg (U of W) is the first Canadian university to sign on with the United Nations Safe Cities Global Initiative, which aims to create public spaces free of harassment and sexual harassment for women and girls.
The first public meeting on the initiative at the university was held on Feb. 11.
The committee, consisting of U of W students, student association members, and university faculty and staff, gathered together to discuss sexual violence on campus.
The committee also proposed to gather information about sexual assault on campus through surveys, focus groups, and analysis of public opinion. The committee will also look into collaboration between various university equity groups.
With the collected information, the committee will use this data to plan events and public art exhibitions to increase awareness.
Rorie Arnould, president of U of W’s student union, said his university environment is “a reflection of our social conditions as the consequences of our patriarchal attitudes towards women.”
Arnould said university programs are important in eradicating sexual violence in public spaces.
“It is important for universities like ours to act as leaders and to deliberately seek out opportunities to expose power structures, and the initiative is one of the ways that we’re responding to that,” he said.
According to CBC, there have been seven reported sexual assaults between 2009 and 2013 at U of W.
Emily Epp, a student leader at U of W and a committee member, told CBC she believes sexual assaults are underreported.
“We know there is a very low reporting rate because women aren’t believed and women are blamed,” she said.
A recent study by CBC suggested that at the University of Ottawa (U of O), there have only been 10 reported cases of sexual assault in the last five years. Meanwhile, a U of O student survey found 44 per cent of women at the school experience unwelcomed sexual advances, including groping.
From Feb. 23-27, Carleton is hosting Sexual Assault Awareness Week which includes spoken word performance and a “How to Hook Up” workshop.
In 2012, Carleton’s Department of Equity Services and the Department of University Safety launched a series of online videos to educate students on sexual assault and the issue of alcohol and consent.
