ordinator Jason Merai. You can also follow the UARR on Facebook and Twitter.
CampUS is a joint initiative between Interim Place (an organization that provides shelter and support services for women and children fleeing violence in Peel Region) and the University of Toronto Mississauga. The purpose of the initiative is to build partnerships and collaboration between campus and community stakeholders in order to identify and respond to the specific needs of young women on campus. Students will play an integral role in identifying the issues of violence affecting young women on their campus and expand their understanding of these issues in order to help prevent and reduce gender-based violence on campus. The goals of the initiative are to conduct a campus safety audit; research the experiences of young women on UTM’s campus; develop a community campus safety plan; develop and implement an education, awareness and prevention campaign; and document and share best practices with other campuses. The project is currently in year two with the community plan recently being completed. To learn more about the project, visit the CampUS website or contact Project Manager Jacqueline Benn-John.
Build.Act.Change. Preventing Violence Together (BAC) is a new initiative between partners at the University of Toronto Scarborough (UTSC) and Scarborough Women’s Centre. The purpose of the initiative is to BUILD awareness of how violence affects women on post-secondary campuses and ACT to promote a campus community that creates positive CHANGE by working together to prevent violence. BAC works in person and online through social media to debunk violence against women myths; provide resources where women may seek support on- and off-campus; educate students on how to support those experiencing violence; and shares inspirational stories about local and international activists working to prevent violence. To date, the project manager and student outreach team have engaged more than 700 students who have participated in accessible safety audits, training sessions, discussion cafes, film screenings, plays, and self-defense workshops. You can follow BAC on Facebook and Twitter or visit their website. For more information, please contact the Project Manager Reshma Dhrodia.
IT’S TIME to End Violence against Women on Campus!
Facilitated by the Sexual Assault Centre of Hamilton and Area (SACHA), in partnership with the YWCA Hamilton and members of the McMaster University student body, faculty and staff, the IT’S TIME project has been up and running for the past year on McMaster University’s main campus in Hamilton. Aimed at addressing all forms of violence against younger women, the project seeks to engage students in outlining their experiences of gender based violence as expressed in the cultural norms and traditions of campus life, while also working to improve physical safety on campus and responses to disclosures of violence. Similar to the other projects funded by the Status of Women Canada, the IT’S TIME project has conducted focus groups with students and key informant interviews across the varying sections of campus life, along with a safety audit conducted by the Metropolitan Action Committee on Violence Against Women and Children (METRAC) to better understand the particularities of McMaster regarding initiatives that are working well and areas for improvement to VAW services, knowledge and resources. As September 2013 gets underway, the project is now moving to its implementation phase – putting recommendations into action. A key component will be the campus education and awareness campaign. Stay in touch via Facebook and Twitter! For more information, please contact the Project Coordinator Meaghan Ross.
RISE: React. Intervene. Support. Educate.
Using Technology to Address Gender Based Violence on Campuses
In March 2012, the Ottawa Coalition to End Violence Against Women (OCTEVAW), in partnership with the Ottawa Rape Crisis Centre (ORCC), received funding from Status of Women Canada to address gender based violence on local university and colleg