Stand-alone location among recommendations of a 2022 independent panel review

Content advisory: Mentions of sexual violence

By Gabrielle Liu – Editor-in-Chief

Bishop’s has announced a new stand-alone space for the Sexual Violence Support Centre (SVSC), aiming to have it renovated and ready for Fall 2024. For the last two years, the SVSC shared a space in the student union building (SUB) with BUnited. The stand-alone space is one of the recommendations of an independent review panel’s report on sexual violence prevention at Bishop’s.

The review, undertaken by the Canadian Centre for Legal Innovation in Sexual Assault Response (CCLISAR) was commissioned after “immediate attention, concern, and discussion” surrounding sexual violence at Bishop’s following the “message on the bridge” in November 2021. The report was released in June 2022.

Hopeful construction over the summer

The SVSC is set to occupy the first floor of Cormier House on 4 Harrold Drive – the path linking the SUB parking lot and the Panda daycare. Renovations will need to take place before the space is usable. Vice-Principal Student Affairs Stine Linden-Anderson told The Campus that the construction timeline depends on when contractors are available, and that they’re “really hopeful” the new space will be ready by fall.

Linden-Anderson said two individual offices – one each for the sexual violence response advisors – and a common space are planned at the centre. She thinks the stand-alone space will feel quite private and imagines it will feel even safer than its current location.

Stand-alone space “survivor centred”, no longer multi-purpose

Olivia Woods, the Student Representative’s Council’s (SRC) vice president of student life, called the move a “huge step for Bishop’s” and “survivor-centred”. The SVSC’s current location at the heart of campus can make it difficult to visit comfortably, she noted. Though there will be other offices on the second floor of 4 Harrold, Woods comments that a stand-alone space doesn’t mean the centre needs a separate building. Rather, the SVSC will no longer be a multi-purpose space, as it is currently.

Sexual violence response advisor Gabrielle Joncas-Brunet notes that the new space will be “designated” and “intentional”, describing both anticipations for the change and mixed feelings. They note that there are positives to the current space shared with BUnited: the SVSC is central on campus and close to Student Services, helping staff feel connected to the centre. There are also multiple points of entry into the space. 

Second sexual violence response advisor

The SVSC used to be staffed by two advisors, upon CCLISAR’s recommendation to have at least two instead of one. Former advisor Dominique Pelletier resigned several weeks ago. Linden-Anderson says it is certainly the hope the second advisor will be hired by the fall of 2024.

She said the job description is currently being updated before the job posting is made, as the role of the advisor has evolved since its creation. If the second advisor is not hired soon, Bishop’s would fail to maintain the CCLISAR’s recommendation to have at least two advisors at the centre.

Two and a half years after the bridge, where is Bishop’s with the remaining panel recommendations?

CCLISAR’s report set out 45 specific policy recommendations under 14 categories. Among uncompleted recommendations, one is the stand-alone space now in progress.

Another recommendation in progress is to “amend the sexual violence policy to clearly prohibit faculty-student relations”. Currently, faculty-student relations are prohibited only for student-athletes and coaches. Linden-Anderson says the committee responsible for the sexual violence policy revisions is expanding on a draft of best practices provided by CCLISAR.

CCLISAR also recommended that Bishop’s conduct a “gender audit of sport” and develop “guidelines for promoting gender equity in social media communications”. Linden-Anderson says it has been a challenge finding internal resources at Bishop’s for the audit, and they’re still looking for outside companies to conduct it.

Another remaining recommendation is that the Committee for the Prevention of Harassment and Sexual Violence meets at least twice a year and that the Principal attend these meetings. The committee currently meets monthly. Principal Sebastien Lebel-Grenier has attended one committee meeting this year. The office of the principal told The Campus that he intends to attend meetings in the future.

SVSC’s work over the last two years

Joncas-Brunet says the centre has moved towards supporting the greater community beyond individual advising. Both Joncas-Brunet and Linden-Anderson highlight that the use of the centre has increased this year. This does not necessarily mean there is more violence on campus. Rather, students are more comfortable using the SVSC’s services. 

Joncas-Brunet comments that highlights of their work this year include integrating anti-oppressive and intersectional lenses when addressing sexual violence and gender-based violence. They said the centre provided more training to the SRC, resident assistants and O-Week leaders. Joncas-Brunet says they hope this “trickles down” into the community. Fees related to going to the hospital began to be covered this year, such as taxi and ambulance fees, making sure costs would not prevent someone from accessing the services they wanted.

“It’s a top priority for the SRC and the university to work collaboratively on the prevention of sexual violence,” said Woods. “There is always more work to be done”. Looking forward, she hopes to see the sexual violence policy include protection for students in experiential learning contexts and more action addressing locker room talk.

Linden-Anderson is finishing her term as vice principal student affairs this June but will return to Bishop’s to teach. “It’s been an honour and privilege doing this difficult work”, she said. “This work will not be done until sexual violence is eradicated”.

For questions and support regarding sexual or gender-based violence, community members can reach out to the Sexual Violence Support Centre at svsc@ubishops.ca by email or Teams. The SVSC remains open during the summer.