Regulations to protect sexual violence survivors step in the right direction, says advocate
CBC
A Sudbury advocate says new regulatory amendments from the province, meant to protect sexual violence survivors at colleges and universities, are a step in the right direction.
Ontario will require post-secondary institutions to update their sexual violence and harassment policies in order to shield students from irrelevant questions during sexual violence investigations.
The changes, for instance, will prevent colleges and universities from asking students about their sexual history or their use of drugs or alcohol at the time of the alleged incident.
"I think this is a step in the right direction, but there is still a lot of work to be done," said Jacqueline Villeneuve-Ahmed, co-founder of She Matters, a Sudbury-based organization that advocates on behalf of and provides peer support to survivors of sexual violence across Canada.
"Throughout the course of the last year, we have supported students who reported in post-secondary institutions across Canada," Villeneuve-Ahmed said. "And we've seen the lack of sensitivity that the students receive, but also the lack of education that students receive on what their rights actually are following sexual assaults on campuses."
Villeneuve-Ahmed said irrelevant questions about sexual assault surivors' past sexual history, or their sexual expression, are insensitive and place blame on those individuals.
Colleges and universities will have until March 1, 2022, to amend their sexual violence and harassment policies. But Villeneuve-Ahmed said the changes should be implemented immediately.
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