MUN students' union calling for better security for those who live in residence
The Memorial University Students' Union is calling for better security for those who live in residence.
On Thursday, MUNSU issued a letter to MUN's president Vianne Timmons, Bruce Belbin, director of student residences and Stephen Dodge, department of human resources director, with a list of demands.
Director of advocacy for MUNSU, Katherine McLaughlin, said the group is hearing about sexual assault and harassment, and that students feel further victimized when they reach out for help.
"These students are spending the majority of their time in this space under the existing regulations, and these regulations aren't providing sufficient protection for students," said McLaughlin.
"So we are calling for policy changes both in preventing sexual violence on campus and a major shift in the response to students coming forward."
MUN's St. John's campus is made up of about 15,000 students. Roughly 2,000 students live in one of the on-campus residences.
MUNSU's demands include:
Sexual assault training for all staff that work to support students,
Annual sensitivity training for all staff
Criminal record and vulnerable sector checks for all MUN employees
Internal background checks of all MUN employees
Modification of residence sexual assault policy to include an advocate at the early stage of coming forward
Presentation on sexual health and consent for all incoming residents of student housing within the first week of the school year
Survivor-centred policies that consider all complaints as equal
Annual public disclosure of statistics released from the sexual harassment office including attempted complaints, informal complaints, and formal complaints
Independent counsellors for those who report incidents
McLaughlin said she thinks there is a trend in universities around the world where students are at high risk for sexual assault and violence.
She added many universities are taking steps to provide protection for their students and are recognizing there is an ongoing issue that needs to be addressed.
"It's something that is certainly not unique to Memorial, but it's something that Memorial has a lot of work to do to keep up with these instances that occurring right now." she said.
"There are many, many stories coming out of residence, and what we know is that for every student that comes forward there are a lot more that aren't."
McLaughlin said there has been no reply from MUN yet, but added Timmons has been thoughtful and engaged with getting to know students so far and hopes the president can make a significant change for the fall semester.
In a statement to CBC News the university said it takes seriously the safety and security of all members of its community and that it's MUN's highest priority.
"Sexual harassment and sexual assault are violations of human rights and are not tolerated at Memorial. The university is committed to ensuring a respectful and harassment-free environment on all its campuses," the statement reads.
"We ensure the safety of our community through ongoing education and training as well as a number of comprehensive policies including our sexual harassment and sexual assault policy and the associated procedures. We are confident that these processes provide pathways for faculty, staff or students with complaints of this nature to make a report, have that complaint addressed and for them to access the resources and supports they need."
MUN said it does have a copy of MUNSU's letter, and is reviewing the matters raised as part of its ongoing effort to strengthen its existing processes and services.
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