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OCAD University

Statement from President Diamond on Sexual Violence survey

March 18, 2019
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To the OCAD University Community,

This afternoon, March 19, the Ontario Government released a summary of data collected from the Student Voices on Sexual Violence survey. The province-wide survey of college and university students tells us that more work needs to be done to address gender-based violence and harassment experienced by post-secondary students.

To protect the privacy of participants, the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities is engaging with the Information and Privacy Commissioner on the release of additional results to institutions and the public.

In addition to releasing the report, Dr. Merrilee Fullerton, Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities announced the following actions to address the issue of sexual violence against postsecondary students:

  • Require every publicly-assisted college and university to report annually to its board of governors on a number of measures related to the experiences of and support for students who have experienced sexual violence.
  • Doubling the government's 2018-19 investment in the Women's Campus Safety Grant to assist colleges and universities in supporting the prevention of sexual violence.
  • Require every publicly-assisted college and university in Ontario to have a task force devoted to tackling sexual violence on campus. The task force would include diverse student representatives and be required to report its findings to both their respective Board of Governors as well as to the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities.
  • Require every publicly-assisted college and university in Ontario to review their sexual violence policies, by September 2019.

OCAD University is dedicated to working with survivors, first responders, experts in sexual violence, community organizations and the wider campus community to prevent and respond to instances of sexual assault.

Please visit the Sexual Violence Support page on our website to learn what supports are available to survivors of sexual violence, and the new section on our website, Understanding Consent, for resources to help develop consent culture on our campus.

The university’s Policy on Prevention and Response to Sexual and Gender-based Violence outlines avenues for reporting sexual violence to support survivors.  

I thank those who took the time to complete the survey, it provides valuable data that will help post-secondary institutions improve the way sexual violence is addressed.

Note: There is no data given for the category of “Satisfaction with Institutional Response to Sexual Violence.” The survey does not publish data where the number of responses was less than 20, for privacy concerns.

Sincerely,

Sara Diamond 

Dr. Sara Diamond
President & Vice Chancellor, OCAD University