RESEARCH-TO-ACTION: COMMUNITY RISK ASSESSMENT PROJECT
Existing risk assessment tools have limited applicability to post-secondary institutions as they do not address the nuanced experiences of racialized, gender diverse, and/or disabled students and staff on campus; are often optimized to assess risk of specific populations; or are intended to be used by law enforcement. We needed a tool that, while structured and empirically supported, did not rely on criminality, especially as many survivors of violence within PSIs know their assailants.
GBV community risk assessmeNt project
Possibility Seeds’ Courage to Act project led the first national research-to-action project on gender-based violence (GBV) and sexualized violence (SV) community risk assessments for post-secondary settings.
Possibility Seeds developed the first non-forensic risk tool that considers the unique context of a post-secondary institution. It assesses community risk in a survivor-centered and trauma- and violence-informed way, and provides a strong starting point for assessing risks for GBV and SV at the individual and institutional levels.
Project RESOURCES
The Research Team
Jesmen Mendoza, PhD (he/him)
Project Co-Lead
Psychologist, Toronto Metropolitan University
Sandy Jung, PhD (she/her)
Project Co-Lead
Professor and Associate Dean, Research, MacEwan University
Ruchika Gothoskar, MA (she/her)
Research Assistant
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Alyssa Victorino (she/they), BA Psychology Student (Minor in Sociology, Certificate in Social Justice), Simon Fraser University
Amal Elmi (she/her), Senior Equity Advisor, Gender and Sexual Violence Prevention and Support, Carleton University
Carla Bertsch (she/her) Coordinator, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence Support and Support Office, University of Calgary
Chris Hackett (he/him), Acting Director, Student Conduct and Accountability, University of Alberta
Imre Juurlink (she/her), Manager of the Student Conduct and Care Office, Vancouver Island University
Julie Blais (she/her), Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, cross-appointed with Law, Justice, and Society, Dalhousie University
Krystal Lowe (she/her), Sexual Violence Prevention Initiative Coordinator & MSc Student, Forensic Psychology, Saint Mary's University
Marcia Boniferro (she/her), Manager, Office of Student Care, Toronto Metropolitan University
Mary Ann Campbell, PhD (she/her), Full Professor in Department of Psychology and Director of the Centre for Criminal Justice Studies, University of New Brunswick (Saint John Campus)
Nimrit Basra (she/they), Undergraduate Student, Simon Fraser University
Paula Lam (she/her), Sexual Violence Prevention and Response Coordinator, University of Toronto
Sarah Wolgemuth (she/her), MEd, Assistant Dean, Student Life, Office of the Dean of Students, University of Alberta.
Vanita Clare (she/her), PhD Student, Political Science, University of Toronto
About Us
Possibility Seeds’ Courage to Act is a multi-year national project to address and prevent gender-based violence on post-secondary campuses in Canada. The project builds on Possibility Seeds’ landmark report, “Courage to Act: Developing a National Framework to Prevent and Address Gender-Based Violence at Post-Secondary Institutions.” The Courage to Act project is made possible through funding from Women and Gender Equality Canada.