The Ontario government is providing $3 million in additional funding to Ontario colleges and universities to combat sexual violence on campus.Post-secondary Minister Merrilee Fullerton made the announcement Tuesday at Queen’s Park while also releasing the results of an online student survey about harassment, stalking and sexual assault — results she described as “heartbreaking” and “disturbing.”Schools “have a responsibility to protect students, and must do everything possible to ensure campuses are free from sexual violence,” Fullerton said, adding the province will double the Women’s Campus Safety Grant to $6 million, to be shared among the province’s 45 publicly funded universities and colleges.But New Democrat MPP Suze Morrison, her party’s women’s issues critic, said the announcement “falls woefully short of what survivors of sexual assault in this province need,” and the increased grant money will only pay for “for a few cameras on campus.”Morrison also criticized the Ford government for not properly funding rape crisis centres — centres that those impacted by sexual violence on campus also rely on. The sexual violence on campus survey, conducted a year ago by the previous Liberal government, asked for input from post-secondary students about their views on consent, experiences of assault or harassment and how well their school supports survivors. Fullerton said that all post-secondary institutions will have to set up a task force and also report on a “number of measures related to the experiences of and support for students who have experienced sexual violence.” The Women’s Campus Safety Grants provide funding for schools to conduct safety audits, hold workshops or purchase safety equipment, among other initiatives. “No one should have to worry about their safety on campus,” Fullerton said.Read more:Ford government accused of ...
|
