Sexualized Violence Policy, GP 44 Policy Review

In 2016, Simon Fraser University launched a university-wide process to develop a sexual violence policy. Throughout this process, students, faculty, and staff were encouraged to provide input and feedback on the policy, including definitions, jurisdiction, and implementation for how the policy would be operationalized. On March 30, 2017 the University’s Board of Governors approved SFU’s Sexual Violence and Misconduct Prevention, Education and Support Policy, GP 44.

BC post-secondary institutions are required by the Sexual Violence and Misconduct Policy Act (2016) to review their policies every 3 years. This is the second review of SFU’s Sexual Violence and Misconduct Prevention, Education and Support Policy, GP 44. To ensure SFU’s continued alignment with provincial legislation the review of its policy began over the Summer 2023 term and will be ongoing until Spring 2024.

In the fall of 2023, the policy was reviewed by key stakeholders and an extensive review of literature was completed to understand existing promising practices in sexual violence policies across Canadian public post-secondary institutions. We are now launching a university-wide consultation process which will run from mid-March until the end of April, 2024.

Community Consultation: Spring 2024

Drawing from the fall stakeholder consultation sessions and literature review, a draft version of the revised Sexualized Violence Policy (GP 44) was developed (links below). The SFU and FIC communities are invited to provide their feedback on the draft revised Policy, Procedures and Appendix.

You are welcome to provide your feedback anonymously by completing this survey or by booking a 1:1 meeting for yourself, your department, or your campus group directly with CJ Rowe, the Director of the SVSPO. Feel free to reach out to CJ directly to book a meeting, cj_rowe@sfu.ca.

The survey will close on Wednesday, April 26, 2024.

Read the Revised Policy

Key amendments to the Policy include:

Modernizing the title of and language used in the policy by replacing “sexual violence and misconduct” with “sexualized violence”.
Adding a new section under s.3.6 to include a time limit from the last instance of sexualized violence experienced for the intake of a Report once an individual is no longer a member of the University Community. This aligns with timelines set out in the BC Human Rights Code.
Providing more information in s.8.5.2 to bring clarity to the Reporting process.

Read the Revised Appendix A (Definitions)

Key amendments to GP 44’s Appendix A (definitions) include:

Updating s.2.15’s definition of “University Community” to include “or agreement”. This change allows us to include FIC students in the policy.
Updating s.2.2 by substituting the term “accommodation” with “concession” to better align with SFU’s Accessibility for Students with Disabilities Policy (GP 26).
Updating s.2.3.2’s definition of “Consent” to include “or who is incapacitated by alcohol or drugs”. This is a response to student feedback and provides more clarity.

View the Draft Procedures

We have also developed a draft set of Procedures and want to share the following:

This first draft was developed to align, where appropriate, with the Procedures attached to the Human Rights Policy (GP 18) and the Bullying and Harassment Policy (GP 47).
Including s.6.0 which allows the SVSPO to intake “anonymous allegations” to support ongoing educational efforts and support the University in determining if there is evidence of significant risk to health and safety.
Including examples of “interim measures” (s.10.3), “informal resolutions” (s.11.0), and “disciplinary sanctions” (s.13.2).

Questions about the policy and the policy review can be directed to CJ Rowe at cj_rowe@sfu.ca.

Sexual Violence Support & Prevention Office

Sexualized Violence Policy, GP 44 Policy Review

Community Consultation: Spring 2024

Contact us