February 15th, 2023

Hon. David Eby
Premier of British Columbia

Hon. Selina Robinson
Minister of Post-Secondary Education and Future Skills

Hon. Kelli Paddon
Parliamentary Secretary for Gender Equity

Urgent Call for Action on Sexualized and Gender-Based Violence in Post-Secondary Education

The Alliance of BC Students, along with other like-minded organizations collectively representing over 375,000 post-secondary students across British Columbia, are calling for the provincial government to take urgent action to address the crisis of sexualized violence at post-secondary institutions.

For many BC students, sexualized and gender-based violence are a part of the post-secondary experience. We refuse to accept this. Student organizations, such as the signatories below, have been advocating for resources and legislative changes to combat sexualized and gender-based violence for decades, and in some instances, doing the work themselves. We acknowledge the actions of governments past and present thus far to prevent and respond to sexualized and gender-based violence in post-secondary education. However, it is simply not enough. We are calling for significant action to meet the scale of this crisis.

Amend the Legislation: To ensure that all post-secondary institutions meet the bare minimum standards for comprehensive, survivor-centric, and trauma-informed sexual violence policies, adopt the 11 minimum standards as called for by Students For Consent Culture as amendments into the Sexual Violence and Misconduct Policy Act (Act 23).
Fund On-campus Supports: Allocate at least $5 million per year in year-over-year funding to create sexualized violence support centres on campus, or adequately fund existing centres on campus, including those run by student organizations, which provide much needed, on the ground support, yet continue to be under-resourced.

Sincerely,

Alliance of BC Students

BC Federation of Students

Capilano Students’ Union

Kwantlen Student Association

UBC Vancouver Graduate Student Society
Royal Roads University Student Association

UBC Alma Mater Society

Simon Fraser Student Society

BCIT Student Association

University of Victoria Students’ Society

SFU Graduate Student Society

University of the Fraser Valley Student Society

UBC School of Journalism Student Association

UVic Society for Students with a Disability

One Voice Canada

CUPE 2278

Teaching Support Staff Union

Simon Fraser Public Interest Research Group

CUS Clarify

Students For Consent Culture
Anti-Violence Project

AMS Sexual Assault Support Centre

Access BC

Women Transforming Cities

Sexual Violence Prevention Awareness BC

Early Childhood Educators BC