U of M students able to report sexual violence online

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This article was published 08/02/2022 (1399 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Students at the University of Manitoba can now anonymously report campus incidents of sexualized violence 24/7, owing to a new partnership between the school’s undergraduate students’ association and an online reporting initiative.

REES (Respect, Education, Empower Survivors) — a groundbreaking pilot in sexual-violence reporting created by Ending Violence Across Manitoba Inc. — partners with post-secondary institutes to create campus-specific offshoots of reescommunity.com.

The platform informs students and school staff of reporting options and local resources, including school policies and nearby community support services, all in one place.

“It allows students and survivors to take the reporting process at their own pace,” said Savannah Szocs, vice-president of student life at the U of M Students’ Union (UMSU). “It’s online. It’s easily accessible. It also is something that if you get too overwhelmed or re-traumatized throughout the process, you can exit and come back anytime.”

Users are able to make an anonymous report with as much or as little information as they feel comfortable including. If they so choose, individuals can connect with their campus to pursue a formal complaint or contact their local police service through the site.

During the 2020-21 school year, a tailor-made version of the trauma-informed reporting platform was rolled out on every college and university campus in Manitoba, except for the U of M.

U of M administration remains the lone holdout, but UMSU recently joined forces with REES to make the service available to students.

Szocs said there are numerous barriers to traditional reporting processes. The 23-year-old has firsthand experience; she filed a formal complaint with her university about a sexual assault in residence several years ago.

“The process took place over the course of six to seven months, so it was very overwhelming. It was very re-traumatizing. I was interviewed twice by the university’s investigator and was brought to tears both times. The lawyer questioned my story. It made me question what happened. I was told at the end that although she believed my side of the story… my recollection of the evening was less reliable than my perpetrator’s because of the fact that he could’ve slipped something in my drink,” she said.

The student leader indicated she does not recommend students go through the formal campus process but will recommend they access REES. “I believe very heavily in this tool,” she said.

UMSU is disappointed the university has declined to partner on the project because of concerns about liability and the legality of data-collection, Szocs said, noting staff will not be able to use the reporting system as a result.

REES collects information via an encrypted setup. At the end of each semester, it provides its partners with the local information submitted in anonymous reports so campus partners can pinpoint concerning trends.

Pilot project manager Mary Lobson said her preference is to partner with administrations directly because “we feel that change should be led by institutions.” However, Lobson said students at U of M have stepped up. “This has been a long time coming,” she said.

In a prepared statement, the vice-provost of students at U of M said she is “aware and supportive” of the partnership between the students’ union and REES.

“(U of M)’s Sexual Violence Resource Centre will support the processing of all reports received through REES. There are no plans for additional partnerships with REES at this time,” Laurie Schnarr said.

Thirty REES records were created between Sept. 1 and Dec. 31. The majority of those reported incidents were on Manitoba campuses, although the platform has recently partnered with a handful of schools outside the Prairies.

Ending Violence Across Manitoba was awarded $1 million in federal funding over five years to undertake REES — a project it proposed when Ottawa put out a call for concepts to address gender-based violence in 2018. The pilot is slated to end in late 2024.

maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @macintoshmaggie