June 15, 2016
BURNABY, B.C. (June 15, 2016) — Like many students, the Simon Fraser Student Society (SFSS) is concerned about the three sexual assaults that have been alleged to occur on SFU’s Burnaby Campus. Students should have the right to feel safe and secure in their environment and all reasonable steps need to be taken to ensure that this is the case.
We have student and staff representation on the newly established Sexual Violence and Misconduct Policy Advisory Group that will be leading the consultation effort to develop a new reporting policy and procedures related to the reporting of sexual violence. We are hopeful that the upcoming consultation process will also focus on the identification of the types and amounts of service and support that student survivors of sexual assault need from their university and the need to provide a more significant and integrated approach to informing students about the meaning of “consent.”
Christine Dyson, VP of External Relations (SFSS), said “we understand the need for due process, but we hope we can contribute to building a culture that ensures that the rights of the accused do not trump the safety and security of others. In the future, we encourage the university to release information sooner and more directly to the student population.”
Arr Farah, VP University Relations (SFSS) believes that “building a positive culture and breaking down barriers around this issue is key. We will continue to work with SFU to optimize our resources and services for the membership. We want to ensure that all students who wish to share concerns or report alleged sexual violence are treated with care, compassion and respect.”
The Simon Fraser Student Society recognizes that sexual violence continues to be a challenging problem that is traumatic for all people who are victimized. We will continue to work toward building a university setting that is committed to the health and well-being of our fellow students. We look forward to working together with SFU to bring significant improvements to how sexual assaults are reported and communicated, to reducing sexual assault on campuses and to supporting the victims of sexual assaults. We have an opportunity to pull together and to do better on behalf of all of our students, and we look forward to doing so in the weeks ahead.
Students can provide input on SFU’s new policy online.
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CONTACT Christine Dyson, SFSS VP External Relations • vpexternal@sfss.ca or
Arr Farah, SFSS VP University Relations • vpuniversity@sfss.ca