Abstract

In late 2017, Quebec passed Bill 151, An Act to prevent and fight sexual violence in higher education institutions, making it mandatory for universities and CEGEPs to adopt a sexual violence policy by January 1st, 2019. Conversely, student advocates expressed serious concern in relation to the lack of student consultation in the development and implementation of Bill 151. Currently, most research related to sexual violence in higher education focuses on university settings, offering minimal insight into the CEGEP sector.

With the aim of consulting students, and of reducing the knowledge gap, this student-centered research evaluated the sexual violence prevention measures and support services at a public English-speaking CEGEP on the island of Tiohtiá:ke/Montreal. The anonymous online survey asked students about their awareness and opinions of the sexual violence support services and prevention measures available on campus and solicited their suggestions for improvements.

The results showed that most students did not know how to access, nor had read their college’s sexual violence policy and procedures. Most respondents rated the prevention measures as ‘somewhat effective’ (48.2%), and the support services as ‘helpful’ (43.3%). However, students decidedly expressed the desire for a greater diversity of sexual violence prevention measures and support services on campus, as well as for more in-person interventions. The survey findings were further observed through the intersections of age, gender, sexual orientation and ethnicity. The differences in averages between dominant and marginalized groups were also checked for statistical significance through the application of t-tests.