Photo 105319599 © Juan Moyano | Dreamstime.com

By rdnewsNOW staff

13,000 Student Respondents

Province says new report helps improve safety on Alberta campuses

Sep 1, 2023 | 3:06 PM

Provincial government officials say the Sexual and Gender-Based Violence in Alberta Post-secondary Education report will inform new safety strategies and support survivors on campus.

The government announced this week that almost 13,000 students from Alberta’s publicly funded post-secondary institutions responded to the first province-wide campus climate survey on sexual and gender-based violence earlier this year. Officials say Alberta’s post-secondary system has made meaningful progress in addressing and bringing awareness to gender-based violence and the report, informed by the survey, will be a valuable tool going forward.

“We remain committed to campus safety, including the prevention of gender-based violence. This report gives us a clearer picture of students’ experiences across the province so we can address gaps and move forward with strong, survivor-centric supports. Thank you to all the respondents who took the time to provide this invaluable feedback,” said Rajan Sawhney, Minister of Advanced Education on Wednesday.

The government says this is the first time Alberta-specific data has been gathered about sexual and gender-based violence on the province’s campuses, as national data has been available but often focused on urban centres. Officials say post-secondary institutions will use data from the report to address needs specific to their campuses including, but not limited to, improving reporting processes, intervening as a bystander, how to respond to a disclosure and increasing awareness of available supports.

“No one should have to live with the fear and experience of violence,” added Tanya Fir, Minister of Arts, Culture and Status of Women. “Our government is committed to ending gender-based violence and this report is an important step towards making post-secondary campuses safer for students. I am grateful to those who took the time to share their experiences.”

WHAT'S ON

Here is what's on this weekend in Medicine Hat and area: Dec. 13-15

3h ago

IN THE COMMUNITY

Medicine Hat's Mustard Seed adding new shelter spaces at Alberta government's request

Dec 12, 2024

HOLIDAYS

Medicine Hat Kiwanis hosting Christmas dinner, applications due Friday

Dec 12, 2024

The government says the report follows through on their commitment to student leaders who have advocated for help to address gender-based violence in their campus communities. In February 2022, say provincial officials, the Ministry of Advanced Education provided $2.5 million to post-secondary institutions to update their gender-based violence policies, train students, staff and faculty to address gender-based violence, fund initiatives to raise awareness of supports available on campus and to conduct the survey.

“This report highlights the critical public safety issue of gender-based violence within post-secondaries,” noted Chris Beasley, chair, Council of Alberta University Students

. “As a next step, CAUS looks forward to working with the ministry to build consent culture within our institutions to better protect our students.”

“All post-secondary institutions play a vital role in preventing and responding to sexual violence and we are all are responsible to ensure the safety and security of our students and community. We look forward to learning from this feedback. It is about creating a culture where everyone in our community is both safe and secure,” stated David Ross, president and CEO, SAIT.

Alberta government quick facts

• 12,948 people responded to the survey between Jan. 30 and March 16.
• Grant MacEwan University led the development of the survey with input from Alberta’s 26 publicly funded post-secondary institutions.
• Fifty per cent of survey respondents reported experiencing some form of sexual or gender-based violence as a post-secondary student, with sexual harassment identified as the most common form.