The Office of Dispute Resolution and Sexual Violence Support runs the Consent is Golden campaign, a series of events and outreach initiatives challenging sexual violence and promoting understanding about enthusiastic consent. The office has also met with departments and individuals across the university to discuss the university’s Gendered and Sexual Violence policy, how to respond to disclosures, and steps to refer students for support.

Community Outreach and Education

7,541 members of the Laurier community have taken some form of awareness or support training related to gendered and sexual violence between September 2018 and March 2019:

• 3,717 participated in consent and healthy relationships sessions.
• 150 participated in survivor-focused training.
• 1,085 participated in understanding and responding to sexual violence/disclosures training.
• 2,152 participated in general gendered and sexual violence sessions.

In addition, talks related to gendered and sexual violence awareness were given to 13 classes totalling 635 students.

Laurier’s Sexual Violence Education Action Group hosts events on both the Waterloo and Brantford campuses to support activism, awareness and education. This group includes the Office of Dispute Resolution and Sexual Violence Support, the Wellness Centre, Sexual Assault Centre, the Centre for Student Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, and Advocates for a Student Culture of Consent. Events include film screenings, collaborative art projects, activities and workshops. In fall 2018, the Sexual Violence Education Action Group planned Healthy Relationships week in November, and 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence in December. In January 2019, it organized Consent on Campus week programming and workshops. In March 2019, it hosted Healing Justice Week. The group has also organized self-defence classes for women.

A sample of other initiatives include:

• Mandatory male allies training to all male athletes at laurier.
• Responding to disclosures training (Orientation Week icebreakers, head ice team, residence dons).
• Sexual violence on campus and in hospitality training (all Laurier hospitality staff).
• LGBTQ2 sensitivity trainings: Athletics and Special Constables.
• Working with the Responding to Disclosures on Campus team to implement a large-scale disclosure training process across campus, and partnering with the University of Waterloo to create a shared community of practice.
• Partnering with University of Waterloo to create a sexual harassment campaign.
• Consent, empathy and healthy relationship workshops in residence.
• Trans allyship training.

The Sexual Violence Education Action Group partners with Laurier’s student wellness education team to promote a culture of consent and respect. For one week every semester, the two groups collaborate to bring students a week full of outreach events focused on consent and healthy relationships. A counsellor-led workshop about consent and healthy relationships is also offered twice every semester, helping students understand the impact of unhealthy relationships on well-being. Peer wellness educators also coordinate creative student outreach activities.

The Wellness Education team also hosts a Sexual Health Week every academic year, including a Sexual Health Education Fair Day.

Students Making Change

Respecting, affirming, listening to and supporting Laurier’s student communities is part of creating a culture of consent. Many student groups are dedicated to addressing gendered violence:

• Advocates for a Culture of Consent
• Not My Laurier: Golden Hawks Combatting Gendered Violence
• The Rainbow Centre (Waterloo)
• The Centre for Women and Trans People (Waterloo)
• The Women’s Centre (Brantford)
• Queer Sphere
• LSPRIG

Laurier students are also heavily involved in the Students’ Union, and as another facet of student life at Laurier, the Students’ Union engages students in programming and training to address gendered and sexual violence:

• All Orientation Week volunteers complete disclosure training, led by Laurier’s sexual violence response coordinator.
• During Orientation Week, residence life staff and students are invited to a Can I Kiss You event, a 45- to 60-minute program where first-year students discover and learn about:
  • Asking first for consent;
  • Making smarter choices with partners;
  • Supporting survivors of sexual assault;
  • Intervening when danger is present at parties and group settings with alcohol; and
  • Creating a cultural shift on campus.
• The Students’ Union University Affairs department actively collaborates with Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance to focus on the following when lobbying:
  • Reintroducing the Safe Night Out Act; and
  • Releasing the student voice on the sexual violence survey data.

Focusing on First-Year Students

Right from their first day in residence, first-year students are continuously educated about personal safety and gendered and sexual violence through residence policies and programming.

First-year students in residence receive programming thanks to a collaboration between Laurier’s Office of Dispute Resolution and Sexual Violence Support and the Department of Residence. As a part of the residence curriculum, various workshops are held in residences to educate about safe sex, safe drinking and consent. In partnership with the Male Allies program of Waterloo Region, workshops exploring the characteristics of healthy, unhealthy, and abusive relationships are also offered throughout the year.

Prior to the start of the academic year, all student staff in the Department of Residence (dons and residence life managers) are trained on personal safety and gendered and sexual violence residence policies and procedures, including actions taken when receiving and responding to disclosures of any gender-based violence.

Training is also provided to all professional on-call staff about how to properly address disclosures and how to provide resources to survivors and members of our community who are experiencing vicarious trauma. After every disclosure in residence, survivors and responding staff receive supports and resources in person and by email.

On-call staff also tour the St. Mary’s Sexual Assault Treatment Centre every year to ensure that should a student request to be transported to St. Mary’s, staff are aware of care and supports available.

Helping Hawks

Every year, the Athletics department delivers gendered and sexual violence education during team orientations, first-year year student athlete orientation and the Captains Leadership Day. In the 2018/19 academic year, the Athletics department collaborated with the Male Allies program of Waterloo Region to train and education all male student athletes. Further, all varsity athletes acknowledge and sign a Gendered Sexual Violence policy.

Laurier’s women’s flag football intramural club partook in inclusivity and gendered sexual violence training in 2018 with all team members and student coaches.

Addressing Campus-Community Needs Through Research

Laurier’s Social Innovation Research Group (SIRG) coordinates The Change Project, a collaboration between the Sexual Assault Support Centre of Waterloo Region (SASC), the SIRG, the Centre for Women and Trans People, the University of Waterloo Women’s Centre and the University of Waterloo. The Change Project worked toward ending gendered violence on campuses through transforming the institutional and cultural climate of universities and the community.