Cutting support services at UBC sexual assault centre concerns community members

A decision by the University of British Columbia's student-led Alma Mater Society to stop providing support for a sexual assault support centre has some university community members concerned about the resources available to victims of sexual violence.

The decision comes less than a month after UBC said it would be ramping up efforts to implement its sexual-assault policy a year after its launch, following a report that denounced its "countless unresolved issues."

The Sexual Assault Support Centre (SASC) is an independent, student-run centre that provides prevention, outreach and support services for people who have experienced sexual assault and harassment.

The centre will continue its education and advocacy services, but will no longer offer support services to students.

The university's Alma Mater Society, which represents 50,000 UBC students, decided to end support for the centre after 16 years of service, to help focus support for UBC's Sexual Violence Prevention and Response Office (SVPRO).

That office was created in May 2017, as B.C.'s public post secondary institutions were required by provincial law to develop sexual assault policies.

"The collaborative and successful work over the past year confirmed the AMS' confidence in SVPRO's ability to fully serve our community and function as one centralized space providing ongoing support services for survivors," reads a statement from the AMS.

'Survivors need choice'

But Sarah Hunt, an assistant professor who has worked with the sexual assault centre, said she's concerned for students accessing support services there.

Hunt noted there is no transition plan for the closing of the support centre.

"I think really it comes down to the fact that survivors need choice, they need options, and in centralizing everyone into one option, you're taking away that choice from survivors," she said.

Hunt also said students may not feel comfortable accessing resources that exist within the framework of the university.

"Often survivors don't want to go to institutional offices to report something as serious as a sexual assault because of the way that's it's embedded in the institution," she said.

"You have to think about the way that power operates at a university — for example if someone's been assaulted by a TA or a professor, there's all of these power relations at work that have to be taken into consideration."

Hunt said the decision was made without the consultation of UBC students or staff at the support centre.

Faced criticism

UBC has faced criticism over its handling of student allegations since 2015. It declined to comment on the Alma Mater Society decision.

In a statement released Friday, the AMS said the centre was created at a time when there was a gap in services for UBC students, but that the SVPRO now offers ongoing support services in a matter that is "inclusive and accessible to all."

But in an April 2018 letter to the board of governors, the Alma Mater Society said it had "significant concerns" with how UBC's sexual assault prevention policy was being rolled out.

The Sexual Violence Prevention and Response Office was "significantly under-resourced," the society said.

Its directors were hired months after the policy came into effect and two of the three offices remain understaffed.

The Alma Mater Society did not immediately respond to CBC's request for comment.

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