Strengthening Our Response to Sexual Violence: A Working Paper on Prevention and Response Strategies for Selkirk College

Bill 23: Sexual Violence and Misconduct Act requires that all post-secondary institutions establish and implement a sexual misconduct policy including prevention and response measures. This paper supports the work that is being done at Selkirk College to address the prevention and response requirements of Bill 23, and support a decrease in the number of sexual assaults on campus while simultaneously working to increase the number of students who seek support following a sexual assault. This paper is informed by two Selkirk College institutional research projects, feedback provided by college staff, and information found in existing guidelines for post-secondary institutions. The resulting understanding of issues related to sexual violence on campus that emerged from this research informs the recommendations for Selkirk College’s sexual violence prevention and response strategy in various areas: identifying and utilizing a preferred language, gaining institutional buy-in and support, developing a peer-to-peer delivery model, creating and rolling out an awareness campaign and designing and implementing evaluation mechanisms. Furthermore, this paper outlines three intervention approaches that are either currently in use at Selkirk College or are being considered for delivery to the campus community in the near future: Bringing in the Bystander (BITB) training and supporting survivors education and healthy masculinities groups. While the recommendations found in this paper align with the approaches that many post-secondary institutions throughout the province are taking in order to meet the requirements of Bill 23 and to address issues related to sexual violence, this project considers needs specific to the rural college-community of Selkirk College. The perspectives and insights of Selkirk College staff members and the student body collected during this study reflect the unique nature of this institution and have been incorporated into the suggestions and recommendations this working paper offers.