Should Post-Secondary Schools Have Mandatory Sexual Violence Education? (Western U Update)

Comms Staff from Flickr

On Sept. 17th Western University students walked out of their classrooms in solidarity and show support to sexual assault survivors and spread awareness.

On Sept. 22nd Western made an official statement announcing the launch of a mandatory module required for all 5,300 students living in Western’s 10 residences.

The education before the mandatory module consisted of terms and scenarios defining what consent is and what consent is not. "There were also examples of how to watch out for others and that sexual violence can happen to both sexes. It was live so we all were able to comment and ask questions and answer questions that they proposed if we wanted to," Sonia a first-year western University student explains.

When asked about what Western University's mandatory training looks like she replied, "the mandatory training contains of a video/small course we have to watch and then do a quiz in which we must pass. If we don’t pass there is additional training that one must do."

Western is not the only Ontarian post-secondary school that has a mandatory module.

McGill Univerisity had 4 modules that are mandatory for ALL students, staff and faculty of the school.

The University of Guelph-Humber has sexual violence support resource module/course. The module is called "It Takes All of Us: Creating a Campus Community Free of Sexual Violence," broken down into 4 categories: Sexual Violence, Sexual Consent, Bystander Intervention and Survivor Support.

It Takes All of Us Module for Humber College and the University of Guelph-Humber

A 2019 Canadian study reveals, majority of students chose to not intervene, seek help or take action in at least one occurrence when they witnessed non-consensual sexual behaviours.

"Mandatory training can definitely help students become more aware and alert for their own safety and their friends. But with that being said, this training does not stop these types of people from continuing to do such things… so, I guess it has its pros and cons. Putting mandatory things on students would make them feel like any other assignment or test and not really take it seriously. We should do more training in the sense that we actually learn and not just watch a video then pass a small quiz," says Sonia.

Mandatory training can help educate students on disclosure, support and procedures. But does it have to be mandatory for all students? (comment down below)