Students and staff at British Columbia’s post-secondary institutions now have access to more resources to help them prevent and respond to sexualized violence and misconduct on campuses.

The Sexual Violence Prevention and Response Training Series, developed by BCcampus in collaboration with representatives from post-secondary institutions throughout the province, is an openly licenced education resource now available to any post-secondary institution in B.C.

“B.C.’s post-secondary campuses must be safe places for all students. Sexual violence and misconduct are unacceptable and won’t be tolerated,” said Anne Kang, Minister of Advanced Education and Skills Training. “The work that BCcampus has done provides the essential tools and training for post-secondary institutions to prevent and respond to sexualized violence. The open resources will help break down existing barriers for students to access support.”

Awareness and training resources are available in four training and facilitation guides:  

• consent and sexual violence
• supporting survivors
• accountability and repairing relationships
• active bystander intervention

The guides are designed for facilitators to use for 90-minute training sessions either in-person or online. They include short presentation notes and slides, small-group and self-reflection activities, practice scenarios and tips on how to create safer spaces, while facilitating sexual violence prevention training. They incorporate a decolonized perspective on sexualized violence and emphasize the importance of providing culturally safe spaces for all students.

“Students deserve to feel  safe on campus, and their safety is a priority for our government,” said Grace Lore, Parliamentary Secretary for Gender Equity. “We're working together to provide resources and create space for open dialogues that will make campuses safer places for everyone.

All 25 of B.C.’s public post-secondary institutions have been required to have sexual violence and misconduct policies since May 2017. The Sexual Violence and Misconduct Policy Act also requires institutions to make their policies publicly available. All private degree granting institutions are now required to have policies and all private training institutions will be required to have policies as of Sept. 1, 2021.

BCcampus works closely with the Ministry of Advanced Education and Skills Training, as well as subject matter experts throughout the B.C. post-secondary system, on various projects to develop resources for the post-secondary community to help prevent and respond to sexualized violence and misconduct on campuses.

“The Sexual Violence Prevention and Response Training Series involved difficult but essential conversations,” said Mary Burgess, executive director, BCcampus. “By actively including representation from our diverse communities, these resources should be helpful for all B.C. residents, and through the openly licensed nature of the material, educators can iterate and improve it with each use, creating a sustainable and effective approach to positive change.”

Learn More:

For more on Preventing and Responding to Sexual Violence – Bccampus, visit: https://bccampus.ca/projects/wellness/preventing-sexual-violence/

Preventing sexualized violence on B.C. campuses: http://www.safecampusesbc.ca

Sexual Violence and Misconduct Policy Act: http://www.bclaws.ca/civix/document/id/complete/statreg/16023_01