The B.C. government recently sent out a reminder about the issue of consent and post-secondary students.
It’s about time, says a group of young women who attend the Burnaby campus of Simon Fraser University.
They say there are too many male students who don’t understand anything about consent or how to not make them feel “creepy.”
The relaunch of the "...Is Not Yes" campaign raises awareness about preventing sexualized violence, consent and available supports for post-secondary students, faculty and staff.
“I hope at least some of these boys will listen to this because it’s really hard to be on campus when you have creeps basically stalking you,” one female student told me.
I live on Burnaby Mountain and have gotten to know a lot of students in my building because so many of them rent units here. The stories they have told me are harrowing.
It all starts off innocently with male students being friendly in class.
“But if you’re friendly back then they take that as some kind of sign to start hitting on you,” the student told me. “And no matter how many signals you send that you are totally not interested, they just don’t get it … I’ve been followed so many times on campus that I literally feel sick about having to go to class ... I mean just stop following us. How do you not know this is not right?”
The "...Is Not Yes" campaign promotes free educational resources available to the post-secondary community and highlights various student support services offered by B.C. colleges and universities.
The campaign relaunched on Jan. 27, and continues through the month to coincide with on-campus student orientation at the beginning of each semester.
To reach new and returning students, campaign materials have been shared with student and faculty organizations at all 25 public post-secondary institutions across B.C. and to private post-secondary colleges and universities.
In partnership with the post-secondary sector and BCcampus, the provincial government has also launched a new, free training resource called Safer Campuses for Everyone. This resource is accessible to all post-secondary institutions and can be adapted to each institution's learning management system to meet the needs of students, faculty and staff.
Safer Campuses for Everyone supports the "...Is Not Yes" campaign by offering opportunities for campus communities to learn more about:
* the meaning and impact of sexualized violence;
* the importance of consent in all relationships;
* how to intervene to prevent sexualized violence; and
* how to support people who have experienced sexualized violence.
Digital advertisements are scheduled to run on major social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat in addition to online dating apps. To further the campaign's reach in students' cultural spaces, some materials are also available in Chinese and Punjabi.
If you or someone you know is a victim of sexual assault, contact VictimLinkBC, a toll-free, confidential, multilingual service available across B.C. and the Yukon 24 hours a day, seven days a week, by calling or texting 1 800 563-0808 or sending an email to [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]). You can also call your local police or 911.
