Plans for policy on campus sexual assaults

The presidents of Ontario’s 24 public colleges, including Fanshawe College’s Peter Devlin, have voted unanimously at the Colleges Ontario conference in favour of a province-wide policy concerning campus sexual assaults.

According to Fanshawe spokesperson Elaine Gamble, each college will have a distinct policy on sexual assault that must be accessible to students and the public.

She says there is no word on when the policy will be implemented.

“Along with all the other Ontario colleges, Fanshawe will review the draft province-wide policy to determine whether it would be helpful to the college and could be adapted to local circumstances,” Gamble said in an email.

In an on-going investigation, the Toronto Star found that none of Ontario’s 24 public colleges had special policies designed to deal with sexual violence. Of 78 Canadian universities, only nine had implemented such policies, including Western University, which implemented its policy in September.

While Fanshawe does not have a policy specifically targeting sexual assaults, Gamble says the college already has policies dealing with the matter in the Student Code of Conduct and the Safe College Campus.

“We definitely understand that this is a rising problem on campuses around Ontario, and we are being proactive to ensure the safety within Fanshawe,” said Fanshawe Student Union president Matt Stewart in an email.

Victims of sexual assault on campus should contact Campus Security Services at 519-452-4400. Campus Security Services will get in touch with London Police Services, and they will devise a safety plan with the victim.

“We’ll make any reasonable accommodation we can to ensure your safety,” said Special Const. Brent Arsenault.