There is a new website for rural and Indigenous students going to big city campuses for post-secondary schooling.
The Northern Society for Domestic Peace launched campusassault.ca on Monday, August 27th. It aims to provide college and university students in British Columbia and Alberta with information on sexual assault and harassment issues.
Executive Administrator with NSDP Airika Owen explains.
“It covers different topics related to sexual violence on campus. There is information on what to do if you’ve been assaulted, how to support a friend, which is the more likely scenario. Then there’s information on peaceful bystander intervention and consent.”
One other feature is the ability to search for different campuses and different cities to see what on- and off-campus resources are available.
NSDP was awarded funding through Telus and the Department of Justice in 2016 to research, develop, and deliver presentations to graduating rural high school students on sexual assault on Canadian post-secondary campuses. Owen says NSDP developed the website to replace paper materials which can be easily lost or not available when needed.
“The days of papers, pamphlets, and flyers are kind of disappearing, especially with younger generations. Especially with young people who are packing and moving far away, we didn’t just want to send them off with flyers.”
According to Owen, research shows students are at the highest risk of campus sexual assault in their first year at school and many within the first eight weeks.