The detailed responses to the Student Voices on Sexual Violence survey have been released by the Ontario government and the information is available on the Council of Ontario Universities (COU) website. Queen’s Sexual Violence Prevention and Response Task Force will now review the data carefully as part of its ongoing work to support sexual violence prevention and response on campus. The Task Force comprises students, administrators, and faculty.

“We are pleased the government has released the detailed data,” says Teri Shearer, Deputy Provost (Academic Operations and Inclusion). “Our Task Force will use this information to help the university in its continuing efforts to create a safe and supportive campus where sexual violence in any form is not tolerated.”

The Task Force is co-chaired by Stephanie Simpson, Associate Vice-Principal (Human Rights, Equity and Inclusion), and Ann Tierney, Vice-Provost and Dean of Student Affairs. 

The survey was conducted in February 2018 and over 160,000 college and university students across Ontario responded to it. The data is available on the Council of Ontario Universities (COU) website.

The responses provide important insights into students’ understanding of consent, perceived peer attitudes towards sexual violence, awareness of sexual violence support and services, and their personal experiences of sexual violence. The COU has provided a summary technical guide which will assist the Task Force in analyzing the results and identifying areas of focus for additional work.  

“More than 7,000 Queen’s students responded to the survey,” says William Greene, Alma Mater Society (AMS) Vice President (University Affairs) and member of the Sexual Violence Prevention and Response Task Force.  “This is an issue that is important to our peers, and the information the respondents provided will help the Task Force and the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance work with students and student groups as we all continue to enhance our efforts on sexual violence education, prevention, and response.”

“We appreciate that the intent of the survey was to hear from students directly about how sexual violence impacts our lives, and we appreciate being included in the university’s efforts to find more ways to combat this very real problem,” says Jeremy Ambraska, President of the Society of Graduate and Professional Students (SGPS), also a member of the Sexual Violence Prevention and Response Task Force. “One surprising result is how few students reported incidents to authorities because they didn’t think it was serious enough. Every incident is serious.”

The Ontario Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities shared an initial report of the results in March 2019. Using the information from that report, the Queen’s Sexual Violence Prevention and Response Task Force reviewed existing sexual violence awareness, prevention and response services, and updated the Queen’s University Sexual Violence Prevention and Response Framework.

Students can access on campus services through the Sexual Violence Prevention and Response Coordinator, and Student Wellness Services. Empower Me provides 24/7 confidential counselling by phone and online, and a post-secondary student helpline called Good2Talk is also available for 24/7 confidential support at 1-866-925-5454. There is also an easy-to-use webpage that explains how to get help and give help related to sexual violence.