Sexualized violence prevention and response initiatives

Post-Secondary Sexualized Violence Action Plan

The Ministry of Post-Secondary Education and Future Skills is committed to developing and delivering a Post-Secondary Sexualized Violence Action Plan as per the mandate commitment:

With support from the Parliamentary Secretary for Gender Equity, and in partnership with post-secondary institutions, student leadership, and Indigenous partners across B.C., develop and deliver on an action plan related to preventing and responding to sexualized violence at post-secondary institutions.

Sexualized Violence Advisory Group

This group is the main connection point between the Ministry of Post-Secondary Education and Future Skills, public post-secondary institutions, students/student associations, subject matter experts, and associations representing community organizations specific to sexualized violence. The Sexualized Violence Advisory Group provides ongoing and annual recommendations and feedback to the Ministry on its strategic direction, programs, and initiatives, relating to efforts at preventing and responding to sexualized violence in the post-secondary education system. Please review the Terms of Reference for more information.

Sexualized Violence Data and Reporting Working Group

This working group developed through a need for post-secondary institutions to have a dialogue about comparability and sexualized violence data and to respond to concerns over how post-secondary institutions can collect meaningful statistics on sexualized violence and report information out to the broader community. Please review the Terms of Reference (Sexualized Violence (SV) Data and Reporting Working Group) for more information on the role of the Working Group.

The working group produced Creating a Culture of Accountability: A Toolkit for Data & Reporting on Sexualized Violence Response and Support at Public Post-Secondary Institutions in British Columbia. The toolkit will assist post-secondary staff and administrators responsible for implementing stand-alone sexualized violence policies in preparing and disseminating their institution’s annual report. The toolkit will help to improve transparency, promote accountability and understanding, and inform areas for future development.

Sexualized Violence Education and Training

In 2021, the Ministry of Post-Secondary Education and Future Skills and BCcampus completed the development of a suite of synchronous and asynchronous training resources to improve post-secondary institutions’ response to sexualized violence in the post-secondary sector. This initial phase of resources includes four synchronous training modules and facilitator guides on: Consent and Sexualized Violence, Supporting Survivors, Accountability and Repairing Relationships, Active Bystander Intervention, and an asynchronous module called Safer Campuses for Everyone that can be embedded into post-secondary institutions’ learning management systems.

In late 2021, the Ministry of Post-Secondary Education and Future Skills secured $500,000 in funding from Women and Gender Equality Canada for a two-year project, managed by BCcampus, to develop intersectional training resources to address technology-facilitated sexualized violence and the impacts of sexualized violence on Indigenous, graduate, and international students. The resources are anticipated to be launched in 2024.