Panel invented to discuss and further education and awareness in prevention of sexual violence
Vice-President and Provost, Cheryl Regehr, has gathered an “Expert Panel on Education and Prevention of Sexual Violence.” The new panel’s mandate is to provide Regehr with principles and foundations in which to support sexual violence prevention. The panel has also been founded to advance current programs designed to combat sexual violence.
Students, staff, and faculty are able to provide feedback at different consultation meetings, running from March 15th to 20th. The principles of the panel are outlined in the draft for consultation of the “Education and Prevention of Sexual Violence.” The purpose of the draft is to be a base educational resource for all UofT community members.
The draft includes initiatives such as the provision of advanced education for students on the subject of sexual violence, aimed in particular at elected student leaders. Education will include sessions that provide awareness on how to support peers in situations of sexual violence and how to prevent students from experiencing these instances in the future. Assistance will also be provided to students in regards to the process of filing a report on situations of sexual violence.
The expert panel encourages UofT members to review the draft and provide feedback on potential areas of improvement or where there are gaps in the information. Review will remain open to the public until April 10th, 2017.
Developed by a committee of students, staff, and faculty, the Final Report of the Presidential and Provostial Advisory Committee on Preventing and Responding to Sexual Violence was released February 2nd, 2016, by UofT. The goal of the committee was to discuss recommendations for preventing and properly responding to sexual violence at UofT.
In furthering Regehr’s memorandum from April 6th, 2016—which was a call for members of the expert panel—three groups have been established to discuss education and prevention tactics. These groups are: Expert Panel on Sexual Violence Policies, Expert Panel on Education and Prevention of Sexual Violence, and Sexual Violence Survey Climate Advisory Board. The inclusion of staff, undergraduate students, graduate students, and faculty members is purposed to strengthen and coordinate university procedures and education on all three campuses.
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