This story contains details viewers may find disturbing. Those in need of support can call the Ottawa Distress Centre Crisis Line at 613-238-3311 or the Carleton Sexual Assault Support Centre at 613-520-5622.
Carleton’s department of Equity and Inclusive Communities (EIC) is offering online peer support for sexual violence via Google Hangout Monday to Friday from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Carleton University is reviewing its sexual violence policy in a commitment to being a safe and inclusive community, university president and vice-chancellor Benoit-Antoine Bacon announced in an Oct. 18 statement.
The policy is reviewed every three years, with the last review completed in April 2019. The statement from Bacon comes shortly after a call-to-action from two Carleton students proposing a sexual violence prevention program at the university.
“It is our shared responsibility to always strive to enhance our efforts towards education, prevention and response to sexual violence,” Bacon wrote in the statement.
Aminah Derman is the administrative coordinator at the Carleton University Students’ Association’s (CUSA) Womxn’s Centre, which supports survivors of sexual violence and can provide those sharing their stories with peer support.
She said the review is an excellent place to start and hopes to see the results of the consultation implemented.
“Students should feel safe on campus and there’s a lot of students who don’t,” Derman said.
Carleton has developed a draft plan outlining the consultation process, with a listening phase currently underway and scheduled to continue into January 2022. This phase includes an online feedback form and information and feedback sessions for students, faculty, staff and senior administration.
Equity and Inclusive Communities (EIC) is reaching out to students and student groups to receive feedback during this phase.
Tiana Thomas, co-author of the call-to-action, encouraged students to leave feedback on the consultation page.
“It’s really important to have student voices included in this new policy or nothing is going to change,” Thomas said. “We need to advocate for more education, especially around the concepts of consent. We need to define what rape culture is, what toxic masculinity is and we need to talk about it.”
Yumna Khan, programming coordinator at the Womxn’s Centre, said she appreciates the policy’s focus on marginalized groups. However, Khan said she worries the feedback phase could be triggering for sexual violence survivors having to retell their story.
Derman agreed, noting it’s difficult for survivors to use the resources that exist because they don’t know anybody there. Derman said more widespread training on sexual violence support can help students feel more comfortable coming forward.
Other stages of the consultation process include a tactical, drafting, fine-tuning and finalization phase, with the updated policy expected to be released in June 2022. Feedback on the plan can be provided through the consultation website.
Steven Reid, Carleton’s media relations officer, said in an email to the Charlatan the university wants to confirm its commitment to providing support for members of the community directly affected by sexual violence.
“Carleton supports and is committed to maintaining a positive learning, working and living environment where sexual violence will not be tolerated and is treated with the seriousness it deserves,” Reid said.
In his statement, Bacon noted an important component of the policy is Honouring Each Other, a campus prevention strategy for sexual violence. Feedback that isn’t relevant for the policy can be used to enhance this program.
Derman and Khan said the policy review is a step in the right direction but hope to see continuing changes and evolvement in the Carleton community.
“Change should be on a continuum,” Derman said.
Derman encouraged the university to be transparent with the results of the review and the feedback submitted, adding that anonymous feedback is effective in letting the community know how everyone is feeling.
“We can all look at that, internalize it, change our own behaviour and also advocate for others and create change broader than just within ourselves,” Derman said.
