Construction of a sexual assault support centre on campus is scheduled to begin this month.
The centre’s opening date was originally scheduled for September 2012 and has been delayed multiple times.
Construction on the centre has been delayed because Carleton is currently undergoing “several large design and construction projects on campus,” according to Carleton public affairs manager Beth Gorham.
Gorham said these include the renovations to the library and athletics facilities.
After a number of sexual assaults in 2011, Carleton president Roseann Runte announced the university would be creating a sexual assault support centre, to add to existing support services on campus.
It will involve peer support, according to Carleton’s Equity Services, although it will be run by the administration.
The student-run Coalition for a Carleton Sexual Assault Centre, however, is still unclear on what their exact role will be within the new centre, co-founder Julie Lalonde said.
In 2010, Lalonde and a team of trained volunteers set up a support hotline for victims of sexual assault.
The phone line operates out of volunteers’ pockets and is not currently affiliated with the university, putting a lot of pressure on each volunteer, she said.
“People want to sit in front of a peer, they don’t need a diagnosis, they don’t need medication, they just want a space to talk about what they’re going through and to feel like the person they’re talking with understands where they’re at,” Lalonde said.
But the university maintains it should run the centre, as it should be accountable for it.
Carleton co-ordinator of sexual assault services Carrolyn Johnston will be in charge of the new support centre.
She said students will be highly involved with the centre.
“There will be peer educators, peer support volunteers, and some paid student positions in the centre,” Johnston said.
The centre will focus on safety planning, education and short-term counselling for individuals who have experienced sexual assault. It will also include a multi-purpose room for support groups and volunteer training as well as a quiet room for individual reflection or counselling space, she said.
“For us, not having a centre that’s run by students is letting [victims of sexual assault] down,” Lalonde said.
The centre should be completed by the end of March, according to Johnston.
