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Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner program for the Halifax area:
902-425-0122

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African Female

That piece of information really makes it safer for everyone

Participant 1: Personally, I think it’s [the policy is] a very important piece of information to have. [...] I mean, right now, given the fact that we are talking about university students, there are some mentalities that some people might have about this issue that we don’t deem [it] as a bad thing. And I feel like informing them and teaching them, this particular group of people, it's really going to help with those that think when this happens, okay, it's normal. Or, for people who do such things and they are not even aware that it's not okay. And I feel that educating and informing people that this is right and this is not right - there are actually consequences for these things - that piece of information really makes it safer for everyone. And just keeps everyone more informed; I think it's very, very important for both parties to know.
Facilitator: I think that [...] exactly what you said, like, letting people know that there are repercussions. Sometimes people don’t know that what they do is wrong. Did you know that cat calling is sexual harassment? So, people calling you - like "Hey!" - like, all those kinds of cat callings? Those are harassment! But some people don’t know, they only do it because they are used to doing it. And other people do it, and get away with it. But if there is a policy, maybe if you do this, you aren’t getting away with it, ya know? It forms this fear in people, and fear is how people develop [...] the respect they have for other people. Yeah, I agree with that. Thank you so much.

Recommendations

  • Deliver accessible education about Canadian sexual assault laws, including how they work, and the ways they tend to fail survivors in practice.

  • Describe possible legal and institutional consequences for respondents found to have engaged in sexual violence. Provide indication of the range of consequences likely to follow a range of policy violations.

  • Use multiple formats to deliver accessible education about the SV/SA policy during orientation and at least once per semester