Sexual Violence Task Force Report
Northern College’s Threat Assessment Team (TAT) addresses emerging and urgent issues on our campuses portending certain violence or threats to individual’s safety. The TAT is not limited in scope to sexual violence. In summer 2019, a distinct Sexual Violence Task Force was created as a sub-committee
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Sexual Violence Task Force Report
Northern College’s Threat Assessment Team (TAT) addresses emerging and urgent issues on our campuses portending certain violence or threats to individual’s safety. The TAT is not limited in scope to sexual violence. In summer 2019, a distinct Sexual Violence Task Force was created as a sub-committee of the TAT and expanded to include Campus Managers and a Student Association representative. The committee proceeded in virtual format to ‘assess the ef fectiveness of current programs and services to combat sexual violence on the institution’s campuses.’
The Task Force noted that relevant college policy had been reviewed by Campus Managers in Spring 2019 and was found to be fully aligned with Ministry of Colleges and Universities (MCU) requirements including the pre-existence of the TAT, as was reported to the college Board of Governors, June 11, 2019. A subsequent clarification from the Ministry noted that the task force need be a distinct from the TAT. The Task Force noted that it was now so-constituted as an expanded sub-committee of TAT, making efficient use of the considerable experience and expertise within TAT in a small college organization, while expanding membership for superior perspective, particularly the student perspective, according to MCU guidelines. Task Force members again reviewed relevant policy and practice, again noting these to be aligned with MCU guidelines. The Task Force identified and recommended one area of improvement in college practice:
The college needed to more regularly promote:
- Awareness of sexual violence, to be better recognized, avoided, prevented, and addressed.
- Awareness of college and regional resources related to sexual violence for anyone to access them better.
While sexual violence was already a topic periodically addressed in campus student life and information campaigns, the Task Force recommended that sexual violence awareness be included in semester-start Orientations and once each semester among the roster of weekly information campaigns directed toward students and staff.
The above was reported to college executives October 28, 2019, and to the college Board of Governors, November 12, 2019 when the policy was also reviewed and approved as required, without change.