Call for action in the prevention against sexual violence
 

Call for action in the prevention against sexual violence

Dear Community,

Thank you for speaking out and letting your voices be heard. It has been a difficult time in our community mostly so for survivors.

The town hall on Tuesday was an important step in the ongoing fight against sexual violence in our community. Many strong, angry, hurt and scared voices were heard and we discussed several concrete actions as well as substantial proposals for change. I have included a brief bullet summary below.

It was clear that action must be taken, so let me get started on that right away. We have engaged the external investigator; we will communicate contact information for them shortly.

I have scheduled the next town hall for Wednesday, November 24th at 11:30 in Cleghorn and on Teams Live.

I scheduled it during the Gaiter block to make sure many of you can attend. At the next town hall, I will again answer questions and provide updates and I will be asking attendees to participate in brainstorming and reviews and update to current procedures. At this Town Hall I will also answer the online questions that were not able to be addressed on Tuesday.

Other immediate action items (I will update on progress on these at the next town hall):

  1. Meet with University of Sherbrooke to understand how they apply their policy (I have included a link to our policy below)
  2. Get date set for updated lights on campus
  3. Pass the mandatory annual prevention training for students at Senate (staff and faculty are already obliged to do annual training)
  4. Re-establish Safe Walk
  5. Examine drug test kits for the Gait
  6. Explore the possibility of a flashlight lending library

We discussed a wide variety of other important issues and concerns at the town hall including the following:

  • Sexual violence reporting software
  • More immediate process for removing aggressors
  • Parity among male and female groups of student athletes
  • Surveillance in residences

These important topics will be discussed at the next town hall meeting as well.

We are looking for volunteers to receive training to be able to provide Active Bystander Intervention Training. If you are interested in this important work, please reply to this email as a sign of interest.

Take back the night is organized by the Sexual Culture Committee and will take place next Thursday starting at 7:00 PM at Optimist Field.

BU Policy on the Prevention of Sexual Violence (PDF)

Sincerely,

Stine Linden-Andersen, Ph.D.
Chair of Bishop’s University COVID-19 Task Force
Dean of Student Affairs
Associate Professor of Psychology
Clinical Psychologist