This past year has seen momentous changes in the way McGill handles sexual misconduct allegations: The university has hired a third-party special investigator and launched an ad hoc committee regarding student-teacher relationships. However, structural issues continue to persist. On Sept. 21, the World Islamic and Middle East Studies Student Association[Read More…]
Tag: sexual violence
McGill and Concordia students walkout to challenge sexual violence on campus
On April 11, McGill and Concordia students gathered in front of the James Administration building to challenge the school’s handling of sexual assault complaints. Contributor Sofia Mikton takes a look back at that rally.
Open secrets and closed doors: McGill must do better in handling abusive professors
“After Concordia, McGill faces its own #metoo moment,” an April 4 CBC headline reads. McGill is failing in its response to allegations of sexual abuse. The Students’ Society of McGill University’s (SSMU) April 4 open letter on sexual violence and harassment allegations against McGill faculty names five specific Arts departments in[Read More…]
Time’s Up—on campus sexual violence
On Jan. 7, black gowns dominated the red carpet at the 75th annual Golden Globes, as stars displayed their solidarity for Time’s Up, a movement dedicated to ending sexual assault, harassment, and inequality in the workplace. It arose out of a wave of feminist activism in 2017 that bred similar[Read More…]
Lack of French PGSS communications discussed at final Council meeting
On Dec. 6, the Post-Graduate Students’ Society (PGSS) Council held its last meeting of 2017, beginning with a discussion regarding translating PGSS emails, which are currently only written in English, into French. Councillors next debated a motion to prioritize PGSS engagement with the Quebec Student Union (QSU) over the Association[Read More…]
Bill 151 exposes gaps in McGill Policy Against Sexual Violence
At the Nov. 1 sitting of the National Assembly of Québec, Minister for Higher Education Hélène David introduced Bill 151, which aims to prevent and fight sexual violence in higher education institutions. The bill would require all universities in the province to develop a policy against sexual violence that is[Read More…]
McGill’s sexual violence policy lacking on professor-student relationships
Quebec’s proposed Bill 151 requires all postsecondary schools to have a campus sexual violence policy by September 2019. Among other things, the bill stipulates that an acceptable policy must provide a clear code of conduct on relationships between faculty members and students. In Fall 2016, McGill introduced a Policy against Sexual[Read More…]
PGSS to join the Coalition Régionale de Montréal
On Oct. 18, the Post-Graduate Students’ Society (PGSS) Council met for the fourth time this semester, where they voted to join the Coalition Régionale de Montréal (CREM), a student advocacy group with more than 260,000 student members from universities across Montreal. The new Chief Returning Officer (CRO) for the Secretary-General[Read More…]
SSMU Gendered and Sexual Violence Open Forum tackles lack of change and trust
The Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) hosted a Gendered and Sexual Violence Open Forum on Oct. 16 to receive feedback and answer questions from members of the McGill community on campus discourse surrounding sexual violence and the development of a SSMU Gendered and Sexualized Violence Policy (GSVP). SSMU Vice-President[Read More…]
Board of Governors convene for the first meeting of the year
The Board of Governors (BoG) held its first meeting of the 2017-2018 term on Oct. 5, which highlighted the appointment of McGill alumna Julie Payette to the office of Governor General of Canada, McGill’s response to the legalization of cannabis, recent progress made by the Task Force on Indigenous Studies[Read More…]
