Sexual assault. It鈥檚 an issue that has everyone talking at the moment 鈥� and it鈥檚 not an easy one to talk about.
May is Sexual Assault Awareness month, organized by Halifax鈥檚 Avalon Sexual Assault Centre, which raises awareness about the impact that sexualized violence has on our communities.
Earlier this month, Halifax Regional Police announced a second round of the 鈥淒on鈥檛 be that guy鈥� poster campaign, using materials that have been a familiar around campus over the past year. Originally created by the Sexual Assault Voices of Edmonton, the posters were adapted for AV俱乐部 by the and .
鈥淣ova Scotia has the highest rate of sexual assault per capita in Canada, and the majority of assaults occur to females between the ages of 13 and 25, so the university population is a vulnerable population, just given the demographics,鈥� explains Gaye Wishart, Dal鈥檚 harassment prevention/conflict management advisor.
鈥淒on鈥檛 be that guy鈥� 鈥� or a bystander
While many awareness campaigns about sexual assault target women 鈥� advising them on personal safety 鈥� this one turns the tables to focus on men.
鈥淎ll too often, these campaigns can have an erroneous 鈥榖laming鈥� message: if you hadn鈥檛 done this, the situation wouldn鈥檛 have happened,鈥� says Mike Burns, Dal鈥檚 director of security. 鈥淏ut this turned the focus around to the male perspective: there鈥檚 a responsibility on your part to ask for and receive valid consent.鈥�
The Dal editions feature a second message as well 鈥� not just 鈥淒on鈥檛 be that guy,鈥� but 鈥淒on鈥檛 be a bystander.鈥� The idea is that we all have a responsibility to stop sexual assault, whether that means asking a housemate to back off if they鈥檙e being too aggressive with someone, or making sure a friend gets home safely if they鈥檝e had too much to drink.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 a key part of the message,鈥� says Burns. 鈥淎s much as we talk about Rohypnol and other chemicals, alcohol is actually the number one date-rape drug鈥� We deal a lot on campus with 17, 18-year-olds away from home for the first time, and we鈥檇 be na茂ve to think there wouldn鈥檛 be alcohol involved in their social lives at times. That鈥檚 why it鈥檚 important to say to the men on campus, 鈥楯ust because she can鈥檛 or isn鈥檛 saying no, that doesn鈥檛 mean you have consent.鈥欌��
Wishart says the campaign also helps illustrate that the majority of sexual assaults happen between individuals who know each other.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not 鈥榮tranger danger,鈥欌�� she says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not somebody jumping out of the bushes at you. It鈥檚 acquaintances, sometimes friends. Most of the time, sexualized violence occurs with someone that you know.鈥�
Getting help, finding support
In addition to the poster campaign, the Office of Human Rights, Equity and Harassment Prevention, Dal Security and Residence Life are currently developing a sexual assault protocol for campus.
鈥淚f someone is sexually assaulted, is the first person they鈥檙e going to come and see me?鈥� asks Wishart. 鈥淧robably not. Our office is certainly open and willing to speak to whomever, and people do come in and report, but they鈥檙e more likely to report first to a [resident assistant], a friend, South House or someone in Health Services. So we want to make sure everyone has access to a protocol on how to respond appropriately in a way that鈥檚 not going to be more damaging to the individual, and which lets them know what resources are available to them.鈥�
The university is also developing a system for anonymous online reporting for sexual assaults: a way for individuals to report an incident if they鈥檙e not comfortable doing so in person. The individual who鈥檚 reporting would be given an overview of the supports and resources available in the community, and their report would give us more information about assaults on campus.
鈥淚f someone is not comfortable coming forward, it鈥檚 still important that we know about it,鈥� explains Burns. 鈥淔or example, if we know there have been four incidents in the past three weeks in the same area on campus, then we鈥檝e got a real community safety problem to address. That knowledge is useful even if an individual doesn鈥檛 want to come forward.鈥�
When students do report an assault, either to Wishart鈥檚 office, to Dal Security or another unit on campus, the common message is support.
鈥淪ometimes students just want to tell their story,鈥� says Wishart. 鈥淔rom our end, we want to make sure they鈥檙e safe, that they have the appropriate medical follow-up and, from there, we鈥檙e able to chat about next steps 鈥� whether that鈥檚 the legal route, counseling, a no-contact agreement or anything else they need.鈥�
Speaking up
Above all else, Wishart and Burns hope these sorts of efforts get the Dal community talking about a topic that, all too often, stays far too quiet.
鈥淲ith the Rehtaeh Parsons case, which was a very horrific incident in the life of the Halifax community, this is nothing new,鈥� says Wishart. 鈥淚鈥檓 the chair of the Avalon Sexual Assault Centre board and I can tell you, the staff at Avalon are hearing these kinds of stories very regularly.鈥�
鈥淭he provincial government has come up with some short-term solutions but I think there needs to be a long-term strategy, focused on prevention and education as opposed to the counseling after the fact. That鈥檚 important, of course, but we need to do a better job educating youth about consent, about speaking up and not being a bystander in situations that are making them feel uncomfortable, for any number of reasons.鈥�
Dal also continues to expand its first responder training, with support from Avalon, working with everyone from RAs in residence to orientation leaders.聽 And this fall, look for a new set of posters around campus, focusing on encouraging bystanders to speak up about sexual assault.
鈥淭he idea is that if you see something, say something,鈥� says Burns. 鈥淪ometimes all it takes is someone stepping into a situation when it鈥檚 just getting started and saying, 鈥楲eave her alone.鈥� We want people to trust their instincts 鈥� they鈥檙e usually right.鈥�