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Inspired by Dr. Imogen Coe’s webinar, Courage to Act has created the first ABC model to assist PSIs in addressing and preventing GBV in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) in Canada.
Working together, this change is possible. Together, we can take courageous action to ensure our STEM programs in Canada are inclusive and accessible spaces for all genders to learn, work and thrive.
Noting that there are 230+ Calls for Justice prescribed in the Final Report of the National Inquiry, and that post-secondary institutions have an important role in actualizing justice for MMIWG, Courtney Skye excerpted the most applicable Calls for Justice as they relate to college and university campuses. In this free worksheet, you will find a list of these Calls for Justice for PSIs with guiding questions to support you and your PSI in exploring these further.
As post-secondary institutions (PSIs) look towards a school year where “campus” itself will likely be extended into online spaces, it’s important to consider how gender-based violence will manifest differently, and how prevention efforts will need to adapt. It is important to build relationships with community-based gender-based violence (GBV) organizations i.e. sexual assault centres, violence against women shelters, Indigenous Women and Two-Spirit groups and LGBTQIS2 organizations. Our shared goal of ending gender-based violence requires collaboration between community organizations and PSIs. Here are six ways that gender-based violence organizations and PSIs can work well together:
It is easy to assume that our work on campuses to address and prevent gender-based violence will lessen as students return home to self-isolate, however, the reality is that home is not always a safe place for everyone. We saw this tragically unfold in Nova Scotia where a mass murder of 22 people began with acts of intimate partner violence. Courage to Act is deeply concerned about the ways in which many students, staff and faculty face increased risks of gender-based violence under the COVID-19 pandemic.
Deep breath. Covid-19 has shifted work for so many of us and our team wants to be of support. Possibility Seeds is currently leading Courage to Act, a national two-year project to address and prevent gender-based violence on post-secondary institutions built and led by our communities. In this spirit of collaboration, we have created the following resource for people working in post-secondary institutions about meeting the emerging needs of campus community members affected by gender-based violence. It is not an exhaustive list but a start of ideas, hopes and questions, not definitive answers.
