Vanier College adopts policy to deal with sexual violence

As of Wednesday, Vanier College has a new Sexual Violence Prevention and Response Policy that focuses on preventing sexual violence and supporting individuals who disclose or report an experience of sexual violence. Approved by the college’s board of directors this week, the Vanier policy includes safety measures, mandatory training activities and a process for filing complaints, as well as referral, psychosocial and support services for victims of sexual violence. “I am extremely proud of the collaborative effort that took place at the college between faculty, staff and students while we were drafting this extremely important policy,” said director general John McMahon. “We felt it was crucial to act immediately on this and ensure we had a very comprehensive policy with clearly defined roles and responsibilities. Most importantly we wanted to ensure that any survivor/ victim of sexual violence at Vanier receives the maximum amount of support and is treated with compassion, dignity and respect.” Bill 151, the act to prevent and fight sexual violence in higher-education institutions, obligates all higher education institutions in the province to adopt a school policy by Jan. 1, 2019 and implement it no later than Sept. 1, 2019. It was enacted following accusations of sexual harassment against faculty at McGill and Concordia universities in the last school year. Vanier’s policy objectives include: provide a healthy work and learning environment, for students and employees; establish procedures for the processing of disclosures, reports and complaints, and information obtained pertaining to sexual violence; organize and offer assistance to victims of sexual violence. It came into effect Nov. 21.