Everyone’s understanding of sexual assault must be taken into consideration
I think sexual assault is something that needs to be a conversation held with different cultures, so you cannot sit here and say that a person who feels that they are, you know, being sexually assaulted is feeling that way because they "lack exposure." Like, what we consider to be friendly coming from India, coming from anywhere else might not be considered friendly; it might be considered forward. Someone who has no exposure to you, who does not know who you are, if someone just approaches you randomly even trying to be friendly, sometimes the way we - maybe because English is our second language, but the way we communicate, it becomes difficult, and it becomes misinterpreted. So, I think that in evaluating a sexual assault policy, everybody's understanding of sexual assault must be taken into consideration. Like Participant 7 said, his friend, whatever his behaviours were, they were misconstrued as being sexually inappropriate, even though he was just trying to be friendly. So, I feel that in order for these things to stop, the conversation needs to be understood by everybody: what is sexual assault, what it means to you in your community, what it has meant to you before, and what it means to you now that you are a part of the Canadian university, you're in the Canadian culture.
Recommendations
-
Engage in activities to develop cultural responsiveness as it pertains to sexual violence prevention and response. Apply culturally responsive practices in these areas.
-
Consider how a student's identities might affect their expectations and concerns when accessing supports following a sexual assault, or when involved in a sexual assault investigation.
-
Create and promote avenues for comprehensive sex education.
-
Use multiple formats to deliver accessible education about the SV/SA policy during orientation and at least once per semester