Kanchi Uttamchandani | Assistant News Editor
Featured image: The coalition that conducted the survey, Silence is Violence, is notable for being co-founded by Mandi Gray, pictured above. | Photo courtesy of SilenceisViolence.ca
A recent survey conducted by the Silence is Violence coalition among undergraduate LA&PS students indicates that many students remain unaware of the procedures for reporting sexual assault, even as York gets closer to implementing its much touted Active Bystander Program as a means of tackling sexual violence and harassment.
Only 26 per cent of students agreed that they have knowledge of available sexual assault resources on campus, while very few students reported attending workshops or informative events about sexual assault, according to the survey.
“More than half of the respondents who did attend a workshop or event cited the ‘You Had Me at Consent’ event, an annual event offered to new students once a year by the Centre for Human Rights,” reads the report.
“Concerningly, students who had attended a workshop were not more likely to report knowing where to get information about sexual assault or how York University defines sexual assault,” it adds.
The survey urges York to improve transparency about what happens when a sexual assault is reported, where it is to be reported and what will happen following a report.
“York University needs to better advertise available resources and supports. This is a pressing concern as 17 per cent of our sample population have either experienced sexual assault on campus or know someone who has,” claims the report.
Meanwhile, York inches closer to implementing the Active Bystander Program, which has recently expanded to Glendon dons and night porters with over 1,300 people trained last week, including athletes, according to Samina Sami, executive director of Community Safety. Programs such as
Providing Athletes with Winning Strategies and Orient the Leader are geared toward athletes and orientation leaders, respectively.
The Active Bystander Program is part of York’s standalone sexual violence policy, which comes under the broader Sexual Violence and Harassment Action Plan Act launched by the Ontario government in 2015.
Sami emphasizes the program’s preventative role, considering it to have the greatest potential for positive and meaningful change.
“A bystander campaign can inspire students, staff and faculty to play a greater role in creating an environment where sexual violence is unacceptable in our workplaces, learning environments and residences.”
She maintains that York is in the process of reviewing student feedback from those who are currently being trained, as well as engaging with York’s Sexual Assault, Awareness, Prevention and Response Policy Working Group.
“Student groups have a critical role to play in mobilizing their constituencies to act on this issue. The program is underway now and it will ramp up over the coming months with the help of students, staff and faculty,” Sami explains.
