Proposed bill pushes post-secondary institutions to create sexual assault policies

KPU working towards increased campus safety “for the past two years”

Kier-Christer Junos, Staff Writer, with files from Daniella Javier, Contributor

Green Party MLA Andrew Weaver has introduced a bill in the B.C. Legislature that demands post-secondary institutions act effectively on cases of sexual assault.

If enacted, the bill will create legal obligations for colleges and universities to develop actionable sexual assault policies, which are perceived to be absent on many Canadian campuses.

The bill would require that policies be developed with the input of students. It would enforce universities to report assaults to the ministry, and the province would be enabled to impose fines for non-compliance with campus policies.

Minister of Advanced Education Andrew Wilkinson says the government is working with Weaver to pass the bill as soon as possible.

“If passed in British Columbia, the legislation will be supported by a framework that is under development in consultation with public post-secondary institutions to provide guidance on responding to sexual violence,” he says.

Natasha Lopes, the vice president of student life and women’s representative at the Kwantlen Student Association, looks forward to the bill’s bolstering effect on campus safety at Kwantlen Polytechnic University and other post-secondary institutions across the province.

Lopes says there needs to be more discourse available to everyone about sexual assault. That way, no one will feel disgraced or afraid to come forward with their reported incident.

“If the Liberals pass this bill, it will make the discourse available to everybody. It’s the further destigmatization of a group of people who have been victims, who I feel have been a part of the minority,” says Lopes. “I believe everyone at KPU needs to come together and discuss it.”

Preliminary research by METRAC, an organization that aims to end violence against women and youth, found that several Canadian post-secondary institutions “lack comprehensive policies to deal with sexual assault.”

“An effective policy would be standalone,” says Kathryn Marshall, the founder of the #SayKnowMore campaign, which aims to change campus culture around sexual violence. “That means it’s independent of other policies on campus, so it’s not part of the academic misconduct policy, or the student code of conduct.”

She says the bill is a “good measure,” but needs to be “focused on students and not focused on schools doing damage control.”

“I believe B.C. needs to go further than just act on institutions,” adds Lopes. “We need to address rape culture at the heart, and rape culture at the heart is teaching grades K-12 what consent is.”

“When you say stop,” says Lopes, “that should be the end of it.”

Jane Fee, Deputy Provost & Vice Provost at KPU, says that the university has been working towards increased safety on campus for the past two years.

Fee says the university is investing in emergency tools on all KPU campuses, beginning in the summer or fall. She adds that KPU also has a working group on campus that specifically looks at sexual assault and harassment issues.

Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design is actively employed in keeping campuses safe at all times, according to Fee. That means adding lighting on campuses and reducing the number of places where a person can lurk.

Fee says that KPU is making sure that response mechanisms improve for reports of sexual assault.

“What we are looking for is an educational program, so anyone who’s approached by a member of the community will be able to respond effectively,” says Fee. “The big challenge is making sure that the individual who reports, gets the response they need.”