Status of Women Canada – Engaging Young People to Prevent Violence against Women on Post-Secondary Campuses: The Ontario Projects . Learning Network Brief (10). London, Ontario: Learning Network, Centre for Research and Education on Violence Against Women and Children (September 2013). http://www.vawlearningnetwork.ca/violence-against-young-women
LEARNING NETWORK BRIEFS
This is a refereed publication. The views expressed in this brief are those of the content contributors and do not necessarily represent the views of the Province or the Learning Network, Centre for Research & Education on Violence against Women & Children. While all reasonable care has been taken in the preparation of this publication, no liability is assumed for any errors or omissions.
The Learning Network is an initiative of the Centre for Research & Education on Violence against Women & Children, based at the Faculty of Education, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada.
In 2012, Status of Women Canada provided twenty-one Canadian organizations with two-year funding to promote equality and reduce gender-based violence on college and university campuses. All projects build partnerships and collaboration between campuses and community stakeholders, identify factors associated with violence on campus, and develop responses to gender-based violence within their campus community. A complete list of all 21 organizations across Canada who received funding is provided at the end of this Brief. This Brief describes the seven projects within the initiative that are based in Ontario. More information can be obtained by following up with the contacts and links provided within each project description. The Learning Network team thanks all who provided write-ups on these exciting projects.
Students Supporting Students Against Abuse
Yellow Brick House and Seneca College have partnered together under the Status of Women Canada project to “Engage young people to prevent violence against women on post–secondary campuses.” The project identifies issues of violence affecting students on campus and reviews institutional barriers and other factors that limit Seneca College’s efforts to address the issue of violence against women and men. Students and stakeholder teams are expanding their understanding of the sources of abuse and are working together to develop strategies to prevent and reduce gender-based violence in their campus community. A gender-based analysis (GBA) was conducted using qualitative and quantitative data collected from surveys, focus groups, and campus safety assessments conducted with the Metropolitan Action Committee on Violence against Women and Children (METRAC). The purpose of the GBA was to examine the issue of violence against students using diverse groups in order to represent the realities of all Seneca College students. A key finding was the importance in addressing violence on post-secondary campuses in a way that engaged students, i.e., building bystander capacity. For instance, the students from the Graphic Design for Social Change developed a marketing campaign aptly branded Students Supporting Students, Taking a Stand against Abuse. The goal of the campaign is to engage students in being proactive and involved in helping to prevent violence on post-secondary campuses. You can follow Students Supporting Students, Taking a Stand against Abuse on Facebook and Twitter. The campaign is still in its early stages of development. For more information, please contact Pamela Nitert.
The Change Project
The Change Project is a collaboration between the Sexual Assault Support Centre of Waterloo Region (SASC), the Social Innovation Research Group (SIRG), the Centre for Women and Trans People*, the UW Women’s Centre, the Diversity & Equity Office at Laurier, Wilfrid Laurier University (WLU), and the University of Waterloo (UW). The project relies heavily on the involvement and leadership of students. The Change Project is grounded in a framework of university-community collaboration.
The purpose of the Change Project is to develop and implement comp