Question Period Note: Gender-Based Violence at Post-Secondary Institutions

How is the Government of Canada working to prevent and address GBV at post-secondary institutions?

*Canada is committed to preventing and addressing violence against women, girls, and LGBTQ and two-spirit people, including students at post-secondary institutions.

*The Government of Canada has committed $5.5M over 5 years to develop a framework to prevent and address gender-based violence at post-secondary institutions.

*Canada is engaging with interested provinces and territories to ensure the Framework is complementary and supportive of the extensive efforts that have already been made across the country.

*A major milestone was met when Courage to Act: Developing a National Framework to Prevent and Address Gender-Based Violence at Post-Secondary was launched, and funds were committed to address resource gaps identified in the report such as toolkits, communities of practice, and a web portal with accessible and adaptable tools for Canadian post-secondary institutions.

Data show post-secondary students, when compared to the general population, are at higher risk of experiencing sexual violence. According to Statistics Canada (STC), in 2014, approximately 261,000 incidents of sexual assault were reported by students accounting for 41% of all self-reported incidents of sexual assaults in Canada; 90% of these students were women.

Budget 2018 announced $5.5M over five years, starting in 2018-19, to work with stakeholders, including provinces and territories, to develop a framework to prevent and address gender-based violence (GBV) at post-secondary institutions (PSIs) in Canada.

WAGE is currently engaging interested provinces and territories (AB, BC, MB, NB, NL, NS, NU, NWT, ON, PEI, SK, YK) to ensure the Framework complements and supports ongoing work across the country.

In January 2019, WAGE provided funding ($214,403) to Possibility Seeds Consulting to engage the Department’s Advisory Committee and over 300 stakeholders (both comprised of representatives from student groups, colleges, universities, unions, community organizations, survivor advocates, and frontline workers) in Listening and Learning sessions. Completed in August 2019, the report identifies recommendations, promising practices, and key gaps supported by this engagement.

In October 2019, WAGE provided additional funding to Possibility Seeds Consulting ($1.5M) for a 2-year project to address the key resource gaps identified in the Framework report, including developing toolkits, establishing communities of practice, and supporting a web portal with accessible and adaptable tools for Canadian post-secondary institutions.

In order to address data and knowledge gaps:
• WAGE and STC co-developed a new national survey to collect data on experiences of unwanted sexual behaviours and sexual violence among the postsecondary student population. The release of initial results from this survey is planned for Spring 2020. Results will help identify students most at risk of sexual victimization, as well as to inform evidence-based initiatives to prevent and address GBV in PSIs and support survivors.
• In 2019, WAGE funded STC to examine the possibility of conducting a survey on GBV among post-secondary students in the territories. STC advised that surveys are not the best approach in the territories and recommended pursing qualitative research instead.

BC, ON, MB, QC, and PEI have recently passed or introduced legislation to mandate post-secondary institutions to enact specific stand-alone policies on sexual violence.

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