Preventing sexual violence
Everyone in Ontario has a role to play in ending sexual violence. The government is investing in public education to raise awareness and understanding of sexual violence, and change the attitudes and behaviours that perpetuate it. Our campaigns are encouraging all members of the community to play an active part in preventing sexual violence from occurring in the first place.
The government is also supporting a number of focused initiatives to respond to the unique needs of women across Ontario, including women in the North, young women on campus, and older women.
This guide has been developed by the Ontario Women's Directorate in collaboration with the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities, with input from subject matter experts and representatives of the following provincial organizations: Colleges Ontario, Council of Ontario Universities, the Ontario Association of College and University Security Administrators, Canadian Federation of Students - Ontario, the College Student Alliance, the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance, Action ontarienne contre la violence faite aux femmes, Ontario Coalition of Rape Crisis Centres, Ontario Network of Sexual Assault/Domestic Violence Treatment Centres, George Brown College Assaulted Women's and Children's Counsellor/Advocate Program, METRAC (the Metropolitan Action Committee on Violence Against Women and Children), and Springtide Resources.
Introduction
Many Ontarians are not aware of the alarming statistics surrounding sexual violence and its prevalence in the lives of far too many women. Women represent over 93 per cent of all sexual assault victims, and female college and university students are particularly vulnerable. North American research suggests that anywhere from 15 to 25 per cent of college and university-aged women will experience some form of sexual assault during their academic career.
Intimate partner violence (IPV) is de ned as violence that incorporates physical, sexual, or emotional harm by any partner against women (Salzman, Fanslow, McMahon, & Shelley, 2002). is de nition was developed by an expert panel convened by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in 1996 to formulate a uniform de nition and recommend data elements for gathering public health data on IPV, and is widely used in IPV research today.
Involvement in the criminal justice system carries stigma for women. This can be compounded by other factors, including race, sexuality, immigration status, and other intersecting systems of oppression. The stigma of criminalization impacts a woman’s help-seeking intentions and access to services such as housing, health care, employment, and services for survivors of gender-based violence.
This report is part of the Reducing Stigma project, which is led by Elizabeth Fry Toronto and WomanACT and is looking into the experiences of racialized trauma survivors with experience of criminalization. The research was designed and conducted in collaboration with Community based Researchers with lived experience of criminalization. The project aims to improve women’s access to and experience in services, through research, education, and policy reform.
This report outlines specific requests for responsibility and action co-developed by more than 60 civil society groups and the communities throughout Canada that they engage and represent, drawing on the foundational community engagement work that YWCA Canada facilitated at the start of the pandemic. They provided the solutions, therefore we must pay attention to what they have to say and act on their knowledge and life lessons.