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Sexualized Violence Policy (GP 44) Review

2023-2024 Policy Review

BC post-secondary institutions are required by the Sexual Violence and Misconduct Policy Act (2016) to review their sexualized violence policies every 3 years. 2023-2024 is the second review of SFU’s Sexual Violence and Misconduct Prevention, Education and Support Policy, GP 44. The current review of GP 44 began over the Summer 2023 term and will be completed in the Fall 2024 term. The following timeline summarizes the current review process:

  • September-October 2023: Intial consultation with key policy stakeholders
  • November-December 2023: Draft of revised policy in response to first round of consultation
  • Winter 2024: Open consultation with SFU community 
  • May-June 2024: Second draft of revised policy
  • Summer 2024: Draft of revised policy shared with senior leaderhsip and Senate
  • Fall 2024: Policy presented to Board of Governors for approval

Read more about the policy review process

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 were invited to provide their feedback on the draft revised Policy, Procedures and Appendix between March 11 and April 26, 2024. The community consultation session is now closed. We’d like to thank all the SFU and FIC community members who participated in the community consultation process. 

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).

Policy Background 

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. The Policy underwent its first official review in 2019-2020. 2023-2024 is the second review of GP 44.   

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

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