Newsletter: Help me document the impact of silencing survivors on Canada’s campuses

If you’ve been following my work, you know I’ve spent the last few months reporting on sexual violence on Canada’s campuses. I’ve been surprised to learn that, according to one one study, nine universities silence survivors who report their experiences to them. I wrote a story about the legal and ethical concerns of these practices, which some call “gag orders.”

But my project has only just started: I want to understand and document the real impacts these “gag orders” are having on survivors.

So I created a survey. I’m asking: If you’ve experienced sexual violence and brought your complaint to the university, how did administrators address it? Did anyone from the school discourage you from sharing your experience? Did you feel silenced?

I’d like to hold space for the stories survivors from across Canada’s campuses would have told, had they been allowed to say #MeToo.

I’ll be using the testimonies to document the impact of silencing survivors on Canada’s post-secondary campuses. If you’d like to share your experience with me, please fill out the short survey (you can share as much or as little about your identity as you like). And if you’re connected to campus life in any way, please share it with folks in your networks.

I really value the thoughts and feedback of each person following this letter. So if you have questions or comments about the project, or suggestions for groups or individuals I might share the survey with, please reach out to me via email, by replying to this newsletter, or at (778) 903-7714.[end]