Sexual assault support varies at universities in BC

One year after a bill came into effect requiring universities in British Columbia (BC) to have sexual assault policies, the support available at different universities varies widely and students are urging the province to fill a funding gap, reports The Canadian Press.

A student at the University of British Columbia can walk into a Sexual Violence Prevention and Response Office that is open five days a week and staffed by five people. But no such office exists for students at Kwantlen Polytechnic University, a smaller institution with campuses across Metro Vancouver. “I think resources are the biggest reason for the disparity,” said Caitlin McCutchen, a Kwantlen student and chairwoman of the Alliance of BC Students, which recently assessed implementation of the policies in a report.

The Sexual Violence and Misconduct Policy Act was passed in the spring of 2016 after numerous complaints from students that universities were responding poorly to the issue. The province gave public post-secondary institutions a year to create sexual assault policies. The bill was a good start but fell short of substantively addressing sexual violence on campus, said McCutchen. It required colleges and universities to have a policy, but it didn’t define what a good policy would look like or come with any dedicated funding.
Full report on The Province site