Sexual violence impacts us all. Its time to take action.
There are four major commitments troublingly absent in the Audit Report that the University needs to address immediately.
address persistent problems with the Association of Academic Staff of the University of Alberta (AASUA) collective agreement
The largest remaining gap in the policy suite is the policies' deference to collective agreements (e.g. in section 5(d)(i-ii) of the new SGBV Disclosures Procedure). This is largely unavoidable within the scope of policy development but will require institutional will and commitment to fix.
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One of the requirements from Minister of Advanced Education Demetrios Nicolaides was ensuring procedural fairness. However, we cannot talk about procedural fairness and build a University community where by default a student faces inequitable reporting and investigation mechanisms due to collective agreement.
EDUCATE YOURSELF
The U of A's internal Sexual Violence Management Audit was prepared during Winter Term 2022 at the request of the Board Audit and Risk Committee.
It exclusively focused on the effectiveness of the university's policies and procedures for complaints of sexual violence and harassment, and the effectiveness of sexual violence and harassment prevention systems.
making policy change regarding instructor/student relationships
University’s SGBV policy is incapable of addressing the —student-staff power dynamics. That's also why the University needs to strengthen its policies around student-instructor relationships. Collective agreements negotiations are distinct from policy change processes and protecting faculty and staff.
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Mandatory consent and sexual violence prevention training across our community is also a crucial, missing commitment from this latest audit.
providing vital in-person support for Augustana students
The audit did not mention Augustana campus, and the much-needed resources that are needed there to address and prevent sexual violence.
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Augustana students are UAlberta students. They require the same level of safety and dignity as any other on their home campus.
making all relevant resources available in French for students at Campus Saint-Jean (CSJ)
As part of the University's commitment to diversity and inclusion of students at Campus Saint-Jean (CSJ), all policy and relevant supporting documents must be made available in French (en français).
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Francophone students admitted to CSJ deserve access to this information in the language that they understand best, in alignment with the CSJ admissions requirements.