Today, Bonnie M. Patterson, President and CEO, Council of Ontario Universities (COU), issued the following statement:

Ontario universities recognize that sexual violence is a serious societal problem that also afflicts those who study, live and work on our campuses and in our surrounding communities.

Universities have for decades been developing and introducing new educational programs, policies and protocols and hoped education and awareness would end these attacks on personal freedoms and restore a sense of safety for all of those we serve.

While we know we have made a difference for many, we also recognize that no policies and protocols can be totally effective without a commitment from every member of our society that sexual violence is fundamentally wrong and will not be tolerated.

We are encouraged by Premier Wynne’s actions to help change attitudes, behaviours  and culture across all walks to life – in our elementary and secondary schools, our courts, our police forces, our workplaces and our universities and colleges.

It is only by taking action together and recognizing that sexual violence is an issue for all of us to tackle that we have any hope of eradicating it.

Universities will continue to do our part, and step up our efforts where we could do more.

We will stand by our students and staff, and report back to Ontarians on our progress.

We thank the Premier for her leadership and view her action plan as an opportunity to work collaboratively with our students, broader communities and partners to strengthen our efforts to stop sexual violence and find a clearer path to help for survivors.

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Contact:

Wendy McCann
Director Strategic Communications & Media Relations
wmccann@cou.on.ca