The Ontario government revealed legislation on Oct. 27 intended to create a uniform post-secondary and workplace policy on sexual harassment, and curb incidents of sexual violence.
The bill would require all colleges, universities, and private career colleges to create stand-alone policies dealing with sexual violence and review them—with student input—every three years, according to a press release.
The legislation also includes workplaces, and would force managers to take sexual harassment complaints more seriously and make it easier for victims to pursue legal action.
Current workplace health and safety laws do not mention sexual harassment, though they prohibit “workplace harassment.” If passed, sexual harassment will be specifically defined in the new legislation, according to a press release.
The proposed Sexual Violence and Harassment Action Plan Act is part of the government’s $41 million “It’s Never Okay” plan. Part of the campaign involves the use of television ads and the #WhoWillYouHelp hashtag to inform people about sexual harassment.
According to the Ontario government, one in three Canadian women will be sexually assaulted in their lifetime.
Bonnie Patterson, president and CEO of the Council of Ontario Universities, said her organization stands behind the Ontario government’s plan.
“The Ontario government is formalizing in this new legislation what many universities already had in place,” Patterson said in an email.
“We welcome student input on our campuses,” she said. “Universities are for and about students. We want a dialogue with students to be ongoing.”
Carleton University, among other universities in Canada, already has a sexual harassment prevention policy in place, as well as supports for the Carleton community such as Equity Services.
