St. Clair College and University of Windsor move to improve sexual violence and harassment policies.

St. Clair College and the University of Windsor plan to implement additional measures to ensure students feel supported on and even off campus. Colleges and Universities across Ontario have until next March to strengthen and improve existing sexual violence policies. 

An announcement in September came from Minister of Colleges and Universities, Jill Dunlop after multiple allegations of sexual assault at the University of Western Ontario, were reported at the beginning of the semester. Female students spoke out  on social media alleging being drugged and sexually assaulted inside a student residence. These new policies include the right to ensure students who report sexual violence will not be disciplined for the use of drug and alcohol during the incident, or questioned about their past. 

The new policies cover all private colleges and universities as well as public colleges and universities such as St. Clair College and the University of Windsor.

“Our number one priority is the safety of students. Everyone should be able to pursue their studies on or off campus without worrying about sexual violence or harassment.” Dunlop said in a written statement released Thursday, September 16.

Navjeet Singh, Vice President of Downtown Affairs for St. Clair College Student Representative Council, said St. Clair College has existing policies and procedures in place for preventing and reporting acts of sexual violence. Signh also said the policies and procedures are updated annually and available to access online and the colleges sexual violence prevention committee are putting together a workshop to train students on the prevention of sexual violence.

“St. Clair College right now, given the fact of what happened at Western University, are trying to put a plan in place and we are thinking about training for especially resident students.” Singh said.

“The speaker who will be conducting this is a criminologist. She is also qualified to address issues of sexual violence. It will be a partnership of the Student Representative Council and St. Clair College.”

Anne Rudzinski, the Sexual Violence Education Specialist at the University of Windsor said she thinks the new mandates are positive and that students may feel concerned coming forward to the university to access support or fearful to be asked questions about previous sexual experiences.

“It is one way to help students feel more supported and help give them the confidence that they won’t be asked those things if they come forward,” said Rudzinski. “ If they feel like they may get into trouble for the things they might have been doing at the time in terms of drinking or doing drugs.”

Rudzinski also said that beyond the new mandates, the University of Windsor has just announced a new strategy of organizing all the things that are already in place at the university regarding preventing and dealing with sexual violence. This includes sexual education workshops , programs and building tools to leave a dangerous situation as well as defence courses and support programs for those suffering after a traumatic experience.

Feeling safe on campus again can feel as easy as a click of a button with blue emergency poles placed around campus that alert campus police immediately when pressed. Rudzinski said students can use those if in danger on campus or by calling campus police directly at 4444 on a campus phone.

If you are a student and feel unsafe , or would like to report an incident, you can reach out to the Sexual Violence Prevention Team at the University of Windsor through email at svsupport.ca or by email at Windsor.ca/prevent-resist-support.