On New Year’s Eve 2011, a now nationally notorious case of sexual assault took place on the University of Saskatchewan campus when a young woman was raped multiple times in the McEown Park residences by two male students from the university. On Sept. 22, nearly four years in the wake of this assault, the U of S released its first official draft of its newly-created sexual assault prevention policy.

Due to the release of a poignant article published in the Toronto Star in November 2014 detailing the 2011 rape and highlighting the lack of support for the victim and her family by the U of S, national attention surged. As a result, a renewed awareness regarding sexual assault and misconduct, on university campuses in particular, encouraged the U of S to begin the process of implementing significant change within its policies and procedures.

Patti McDougall, vice-provost teaching and learning and associate vice-president human resources for the U of S, has played a key role in bringing this policy to fruition. McDougall acknowledges that at the time of the 2011 assault, only nine of the approximately 100 Canadian universities had a stand-alone sexual assault policy.

“That isn’t to say that institutions like ours didn’t have policies and procedures tied to sexual assault, but it was really an issue of whether you had a stand-alone policy,” McDougall said.

“This is a point in our history, as a Canadian university, where we need to be loud and clear and draw the line in the sand to try to prevent these things, and we need to recognize that sexual assault and sexual misconduct is unlike any of the other violent or nonviolent behaviors that would breach our standard of conduct.”

One in four women across North America are sexually assaulted in their lifetime, a staggering statistic. Perhaps even more shocking is that one in six men are also targets of sexual assault at some point in their life. Last week from Sept. 21–25, the U of S addressed this phenomena during Sexual Assault Awareness Week, the main focus of which was to create a positive consent culture across campus and its surrounding community.

Jack Saddleback, U of S Students’ Union president, has been a major advocate for the creation of the new policy, which is a main feature of his presidential platform. He credits the recent surge in awareness to what he refers to as “the grassroots movement” happening across campus.

“Students want to see this change take place. I want to see this change take place, and to have university administration listen to students and our concerns, that is a huge win for both sides,” Saddleback said.

Sexual Assault Awareness Week has taken place for more than 10 years on campus and involves various events that promote ways to reduce the chance of being sexually assaulted and provides information to prevent sexually assaulting someone. This year, however, was only the second year to include a Concert for Consent hosted by the USSU Women’s Centre and the USSU Pride Centre.

Dylan Lambi-Raine, USSU Women’s Centre coordinator, participated in a major portion of this year’s program by performing skits on stage that spoke to the concept of consent culture.

“We practice giving real-life examples of how consent has to be ongoing, how consent needs to be an enthusiastic affirmative where ‘only yes means yes,’ because ‘no means no’ really puts the responsibility and the pressure on the target of the sexual assault to say no, when an absence of no is not yes,” Lambi-Raine said.

Although U of S records show approximately two sexual assault cases reported per year on campus, McDougall stresses that even one case is one too many.

Lambi-Raine admits that in her role at the Women’s Centre she is more likely to encounter sexual assault survivors or targets on a regular basis, making her personal experience on campus one with greater proximity to the problem.

“In my personal social circle, a lot of people have experienced instances of sexual harassment, violence and assault and even myself, I am a survivor. Through my survival and in disclosing my experiences to others, people feel comfortable disclosing theirs with me, so I do encounter it very frequently.”

Lambi-Raine anticipates that with the creation of this new policy, reported sexual assault cases within the campus community may increase, but this does not necessitate an increase in the act itself.

“With the implementation of this policy we are hoping that the numbers do increase; not because we are hoping there are more survivors or targets of assault, but because more people will feel comfortable with reporting and with seeking support services,” Lambi-Raine said.

According to McDougall, a key portion of the U of S sexual assault prevention policy is the defining of new or ambiguous terms, including the label of sexual assault itself.

The policy states, “Sexual assault is any type of unwanted sexual act done by one person to another that violates the sexual integrity of the target and involves a range of behaviours from any unwanted touching to penetration.”

It is not that simple, however, as the policy includes six more lines under that term alone, surrounded by definitions differentiating between sexual abuse, sexual harassment and sexual misconduct, among others.

For Lambi-Raine, sexual assault is quite a broad term but she argues that this is important in recognizing just how many actions and behaviours can fall under this definition.

“Many people might think that it is only rape; some people don’t know groping is sexual assault when it definitely is. The definition varies depending on who you are speaking with, but I think the definition provided in the policy is quite inclusive,” Lambi-Raine said.

Furthermore, Lambi-Raine recognizes the confusion and fear that often accompanies an incident of sexual assault and how overwhelming it can be trying to navigate these uncomfortable situations.

She reinforces the need for an absolutely enthusiastic affirmative at all points of a potential sexual experience and reveals the terrifying reality of what sexual assault often entails.

“Silence is not yes. Sleeping is not yes. We have found of all the disclosed stories about sexual assault, many were assaulted while they were sleeping, many didn’t feel safe saying no,” Lambi-Raine said. “The idea of ‘no means no’ really puts the onus on the possible target or survivor, where ‘yes means yes’ really returns the responsibility to all parties involved in any situation to all be affirmative or not, but you need to have that yes at all times.”

U of S students are able to further exercise their support of consent culture by contributing their voices to the sexual assault prevention policy. Saddleback encourages the student body to read over the draft document and submit any amendments before the Oct. 5 deadline. 

“Whether or not you are a target or you have had other people disclose to you, these are policies that are important for everyone to be aware of,” Saddleback said. “There are a number of different ways that you as an individual can respond to sexual assault, so get involved and get your voices out there.”

U of S services and support systems are not exclusive to women either. Men are always welcome at the Women’s Centre and also share a significant role in the sexual assault awareness movement, both as victims and allies.

“Women are targets and survivors more often than men, but within a patriarchal society, masculinity is defined as being strong and being able to protect yourself and your loved ones and being a tough guy,” Lambi-Raine said.

She argues, however, that there are three main ways to be an ally in the fight against sexual assault, which include educating yourself, getting involved in sexual assault awareness and prevention activities and interrupting oppressive dynamics.

“A lot of these dynamics come down to people treating women’s bodies as if they’re entitled to them: you’re entitled to make comments about a woman’s body; you’re entitled to touch a woman’s body without her consent; you’re entitled to doing everything you can to try and get inside of that woman. I think a lot of these are really terrible control tactics that keep women’s bodies seen and treated as objects within larger society,” Lambi-Raine said.

Interrupting these dynamics, then, is key for Lambi-Raine and can range from intercepting with something as simple as a high-five to physically situating yourself between the potential offender and the target, as long as it is safe enough to do so.

“For example, when you hear a rape joke or when someone says, ‘Man, I raped that test,’ those are not funny. They are trivializing and downplaying the horrific nature of rape,” Lambi-Raine said, adding that literally interrupting someone and making them aware that this is inappropriate speech can help to break down those dynamics.

Although disrupting these types of behaviours can be intimidating, there is bystander intervention training provided by Peer Health Mentors on campus, which teaches students how to intercept a potentially dangerous situation in a safe manner.

“Bystander intervention really teaches people that we are all accountable. Of course we can’t control what other people do, but if you see something that is problematic, if someone’s life is in danger, or if someone is in a vulnerable situation and you can safely intervene, you could potentially save a life or save somebody from serious harm,” Lambi-Raine said.

For McDougall, the U of S has come a long way over the last four years and although she was not a part of the university at the time of the assault at McEown Park residences, she has been no less involved in helping the university respond appropriately to any and all future cases.

“In January of 2012, we gave out incorrect information to that family and it is my position that in  doing so, we made it worse for that person. It turned out that there were many systems along the way that made it worse for that person, but we were a part of that,” McDougall said.

She insists that she has the utmost confidence in the university and its current support services surrounding sexual assault, including, not least of all, the finalization of the new policy.

“This is us communicating to those who come onto our campus that we are just not going to tolerate these behaviours, and we will act both on the prevention side and the intervention side as is necessary to create a safer learning, living and working environment for people,” McDougall said.

Lambi-Raine echoes McDougall’s vigour but reminds students that there is no shame in consensual sexual experiences, and that each person must trust and listen to their bodies and that people always have a choice.

“The fact that I get to have a choice is awesome, but it is also necessary — consent can be sexy, but it is always necessary. We need to fight for a world where all sex is consensual and fight for the right to have fulfilling sexual experiences.”

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Infographics: Jeremy Britz/Graphics Editor