University campuses are not immune from widespread societal problems of sexual violence and misconduct. That’s why the Provincial Government requires all public post-secondary institutions to have a policy and procedures for addressing and responding to incidents of sexual violence when they occur. 

TRU’s policy was finalized in early 2017 after a lengthy consultation process and sets out; the institution’s commitment to raising awareness about sexual violence, a definition for sexual violence, the types of supports that victims/survivors can access, the options for reporting incidences of sexual violence, how TRU will investigate formal reports of sexual violence, and the roles and responsibilities of everyone involved.

“Students have been involved in the fight against sexual violence at TRU since the beginning,” said Caitlin Orteza, Vice President Equity. “It was passionate student advocates that initiated the first conversations amongst the campus community and who participated in the development of TRU’s Sexual Violence Policy to ensure that victims/survivors have appropriate support and resources on campus.”

In December 2017, the Provincial Government announced a review of all institutional sexual violence policies to see what more can be done to ensure informed and safe post-secondary campuses. Through their engagement website, they ask that students, faculty, and staff familiarize themselves with their institutional sexual violence policy and then complete a brief feedback form to provide positive or negative feedback on the institution’s policy. 

“Overall, I think we can all be pleased with the content of TRU’s Sexual Violence policy,” Orteza concluded, “but the government wants to hear from you! I’d invite you to share any thoughts, concerns, and/or suggestions through the link below before the consultation closes on January 29, 2018 at 4 pm.”

[su_button url=”https://engage.gov.bc.ca/preventsexualviolence/” target=”blank” style=”soft” background=”#314294″ size=”8″ radius=”5″ text_shadow=”0px 0px 0px #9b9494″]Click here to provide your comments on the government’s feedback site![/su_button]

Click here to review a copy of the TRU Sexual Violence Policy. 

Click here to read our previous announcement about the development of TRU’s sexual violence policy. 

About the Equity Committee

The TRUSU Equity Committee is a group of eight elected and appointed students who work to raise awareness about the systemic oppression of marginalized communities in society, and to challenge that oppression on campus.

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