University releases Gender-Based Violence Needs Assessment Report
Posted: March 30, 2017 2:30 p.m.
News conference participants (L-R) Roz Kelsey, Director of Gendered Violence Prevention Strategies, U of R, Dr. Vianne Timmons, President and Vice-Chancellor, U of R, Lori Spanier, Personal Safety Coordinator, U of R, Stephen Bryce, Coach, U of R Rams, Honorurable Ralph Goodale, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, spoke to the importance of addressing gender-based violence. Photo by Trevor Hopkin - U of R Photography
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Efforts to end sexual assault and violence at the University of Regina just received a major boost with the release of the Gender-based Violence Prevention Needs Assessment Report and the establishment of a new position responsible for leading the University’s Gendered Violence Prevention Strategies.
The UR Safe Gendered Violence Prevention Project was launched in September 2016 to develop recommendations leading to the creation of a comprehensive sexual assault and violence prevention action plan.
“The results highlight a number of positive initiatives that we have already undertaken, and show significant support within the University community for addressing gender-based violence,” said University of Regina President and Vice-Chancellor Dr. Vianne Timmons. “However, the assessment also found that there is still a great deal of work to do, and we are committed to doing it.”
Timmons said the report’s recommendations will help focus current efforts to prevent sexual assault and violence, improve the University’s response, and ensure that students, faculty and staff have a welcoming, safe place to learn, teach and work.
The report has nine major recommendations, which are:
1. Creating a new Director/Administrative position with overall responsibility for GBV strategies at the University;
2. Improving the current Sexual Violence and Assault Policy to ensure clarity for survivors regarding the reporting process;
3. Developing survivor-focused protocols that are made available to all students, staff, faculty and administration;
4. Renewing the Personal Safety Coordinator (PSC) position in order to strengthen its support of sexual violence survivors;
5. Developing and implementing a Sexual Violence Task Force to coordinate the sexual violence response across the University community;
6. Undertaking a review of GBV education and awareness programs to evaluate their capacity to promote transformative change and effectively contribute to prevention efforts;
7. Increasing the capacity of Man Up Against Violence™ to deliver primary prevention and educational opportunities within the University community;
8. Ensuring collaboration of agencies/resources currently working on the issue of sexual violence on campus; and
9. Developing community-based collaborations with off-campus service providers.
To address the first recommendation and expedite the process of responding to the others, Timmons announced today that Roz Kelsey will serve as the University’s first Director of Gender Violence Prevention Strategies. Kelsey is a professor in the Faculty of Kinesiology and Health Studies who established, and is Chair of, the Man Up Against Violence movement at the University.
A copy of the report is available at: https://www.uregina.ca/ursafe.