Ontario’s colleges to release sexual violence survey results in coming weeks

(TORONTO, Feb. 27, 2020) – Ontario’s colleges are conducting internal assessments of the first-ever survey of college students’ experiences of sexual violence and harassment and will release the results within the coming weeks.

“This information is critically important to our ongoing efforts to promote safe campuses,” said Linda Franklin, the president and CEO of Colleges Ontario. “We have gained valuable information from our students that we will use to strengthen our policies and practices.”

The anonymous survey of Ontario college students was done by CCI Research in 2018. More than 42,000 college students completed the survey.

Each college has a task force on sexual violence comprised of students, faculty and staff. Prior to the public release of the results, colleges will review the findings with their task force members.

Promoting safe campuses continues to be a priority at Ontario’s 24 colleges. The survey was a key element in a comprehensive effort to reduce sexual violence.

In 2015, Ontario colleges led an extensive collaboration among students and student leaders, legal experts, the Ontario Women’s Directorate and others to create a system-wide policy that became a template for post-secondary institutions across the country.

Colleges continue to ensure everyone knows their rights and responsibilities and remain committed to providing effective support for survivors of sexual violence.

Learning more details about students’ experiences on college campuses greatly enhances those efforts. Colleges report to their boards each year on the support provided to students who experienced sexual violence.

“Every student has the right to learn in the safest environment possible,” Franklin said. “We welcome this valuable feedback from students and will use it to determine the best ways to improve.”

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For more information, contact:

Amy Dickson
Manager, Media Relations and Communications
Colleges Ontario
(647) 258-7686
dickson@collegesontario.org