If you attend a Canadian university, chances are you’re blissfully ignorant about sexual assaults at your school, and the policies in place to deal with them. This may be because your university has no special policy to deal with these crimes.
Last year, a study done by the Toronto Star found that a mere nine out of 78 Canadian universities had any sort of special policy to deal with sexual assault. There isn’t even a law in place for institutions to convey the statistics on their crimes. Clearly, Canadian universities are not doing enough to keep students safe, and further measures must be taken.
Unfortunately, campus rape is an epidemic in Canada. In terms of university policies, we differ on this topic from our southern neighbours. The United States adopted the Clery Act in 1990, which legally requires universities to report sexual assaults as well as issue a warning to the campus community when one occurs. Canadian campuses have no such policy, making it disturbingly easy for sexual assaults to be overlooked and underreported.
In 2011, the White House implemented an awareness campaign based on Title IX, a federal amendment meant to prevent sexual discrimination in the education system. The campaign aims to assist sexual violence survivors with anything they need, whether it’s switching classes or leaving residence. The goal is to put pressure on institutions to take responsibility for assaults among students and faculty, and remind them of their lawful obligations.
Such legal measures should encourage Canada to follow suit.
Typically, post-secondary establishments are very concerned with their image; no university wants to be seen as ‘dangerous.’ Brushing sexual assault under the rug is commonplace for a university trying to preserve their positive reputation. Not only is this insensitive, but it also defies the morals we expect a university to uphold. When a school is too worried about their image to report an assault, the entire campus community is placed in danger.
Even progressive institutions like SFU discuss rape with hushed tones.
Sexual assault has always been a taboo topic. Even progressive institutions like SFU discuss rape with hushed tones. SFU security has a page with advice for victims of assault, but along with warnings on how to avoid it, the page mostly consists of outside resources and advice to call the police.
Even our university’s own website on assault states that “it’s difficult to estimate the number of women from the SFU community who are sexually assaulted each year. Sexual assault is one of the most underreported crimes; official statistics from law enforcement agencies are not an accurate picture of what’s actually happening.”
SFU seems to blame law enforcement for its lack of reporting, but it is very unclear what measures the university itself has taken.
With this attitude in place, protecting students becomes difficult, as does holding perpetrators accountable. To create a safer campus, Canadian universities need to both change their policies and break the silence. A federal law, similar to that in the United States, should be enacted which requires universities to report their on-campus crimes.
Students need to feel safe at school. Without the necessary sexual assault policies in place, we cannot depend on these establishments to make the changes needed to create a safer student environments.
