Sex assault supports vary at B.C. universities despite provincial law
VANCOUVER — One year after a bill came into effect requiring British Columbia universities to have sexual assault policies, the supports available at different schools still vary widely and students are urging the province to fill a funding gap.
A student at the University of British Columbia can walk into a Sexual Violence Prevention and Response Office that is open five days a week and staffed by five people. But no such office exists for students at Kwantlen Polytechnic University, a smaller institution with campuses across Metro Vancouver.
“I think resources are the biggest reason for the disparity,” said Caitlin McCutchen, a Kwantlen student and chairwoman of the Alliance of B.C. Students, which recently assessed implementation of the policies in a report. “Perhaps if the government had attached some funding (to the bill), or had attached more laid-out principles or guidelines, that could’ve helped other universities that didn’t necessarily have the resources.”
The Sexual Violence and Misconduct Policy Act was passed in the spring of 2016 after numerous complaints from students that universities were responding poorly to the issue.
The province gave public post-secondary institutions a year to create sexual assault policies and have them in place by May 19, 2017.
The bill was a good start but fell short of substantively addressing sexual violence on campus, said McCutchen. It required colleges and universities to have a policy, but it didn’t define what a good policy would look like or come with any dedicated funding.
Melanie Mark, B.C.’s advanced education minister, declined an interview but said in an email statement that her ministry asked students, faculty and staff for input on the policies and received around 370 responses. An analysis is being finalized with recommendations for next steps, she said.
Kwantlen has launched a number of new initiatives since its policy was approved last year, including education and awareness training, said Jane Fee, viceprovost of students. It’s also hiring a new administrative position to support ongoing training, she added.
The University of B.C.’s budget this year for sexual violence offices on its Vancouver and Okanagan campuses, as well as a director of investigations who oversees both locations, is nearly $1.8 million. The director hires external investigators to handle reports according to specific timelines.
Simon Fraser University also has a centralized office responsible for sexual violence.
The University of the Fraser Valley hired a manager of student wellness and development to oversee sexualized violence initiatives, while the University of Northern British Columbia assembled a response and support team made up of members of various departments.