Camosun College is moving ahead with its drafting of a new sexual violence and misconduct policy. As part of this process, Camosun recently had community feedback sessions, where students and others could make their voices heard. According to Camosun vice president of student experience Joan Yates, the first feedback session, held on January 24, went smoothly.
“There weren’t a lot of people, but there was some very deep and broad discussion,” says Yates. “Given the nature of this issue, that’s what we expected. Those that came gave us incredible thought and are spending a great deal of time giving some thoughtful feedback to it, pointing out where there may be gaps, where things might work, and what the college can and cannot do. This kind of conversation is incredibly helpful to us and helps us further understand this.”
Camosun College Student Society external executive Rachael Grant attended the first of the two meetings; she says that the sessions weren’t just for the policy itself, but also to look at how education fits in to the conversation.
“I thought the first session went really well,” she says. “It’s a part of the overall consultation process that has been undertaken so far and is a different format for folks to access. There were several tables set up and it was an opportunity for open discussion of not only the policy itself, but for education and resources that should be built around the policy when it’s implemented.”
Grant says that there have been changes to the draft throughout the process so far, and that the feedback given to those working on the draft has played a big role in shaping the document.
“It’s been a living document, definitely,” she says. “There have been extensive changes based on student feedback, and all the feedback, really. That’s part of what I really appreciate about this process—nothing is set in stone, and that the folks who are developing this all have a very open mind when it comes to the consultation that’s being sought out. When feedback is given, it actually translates to change.”
Yates agrees that the feedback —from students and outside parties—has been incredibly important. She says that the guidance the college has received from outside parties has helped to make those working on the policy aware of what it needs to address.
“We’ve got to be inclusive when we talk about this,” she says. “In terms of students, faculty, and staff it’s about what they need from this policy. But from the external community it’s also some guidance on this issue; what we need to be aware of, what language we use, and what’s the nature of this issue. The external support has been incredible, since we don’t have all the answers, but there are folks in our community that have a lot more answers than we do. We want to do this really well from the beginning and have a policy that meets the needs of individuals and is in place for a long time.”
In accordance with provincial legislation, Camosun’s new Sexual Violence and Misconduct Policy will be implemented in May.