Sexual Violence
Sexual violence is any violence, physical or psycological, carried out through sexual means or by targeting a person’s sexuality, gender identity, or gender expression.
- Sexual Violence is not tolerated at Brescia
- Sexual violence is a crime and is never the fault of the survivor
- Sexual violence affects people of all ages, genders, and sexual orientations
Sexual Violence is not tolerated at Brescia
All members of the Brescia community have the right to study, learn, live, work, and
research in an environment free of sexual violence. Any and all acts or threats of
sexual violence will be addressed and individuals who have committed an act of sexual
violence will be held accountable.
Sexual violence is a crime and is never the fault of the survivor
Sexual violence is a crime, whatever the past or present relationship between the
people involved. No one has the right to threaten or force another person to have
sexual contact. No one has the right to abuse a position of trust, power, or authority
to get another person to have sex.
Sexual violence affects people of all ages, genders, and sexual orientations
Sexual violence can involve situations where sexual activity is obtained by someone
abusing a position of trust, power, or authority. Many people do not tell anyone they
have experienced sexual violence, or even realize they experienced sexual violence,
until months or years later.
This website is focused on support and education. It is designed to be a tool that all members of the Brescia community can use to learn more information about responding to and preventing sexual violence on our campus, and supporting survivors of sexual violence.
Our thanks and gratitude for information and content used from The University of British Columbia, University of Ottawa, and University of Illinois.
Get Help and Disclose
If you’ve experienced or think you’ve experienced sexual violence, help is available and you have options. It’s important that you know what happened to you is not your fault and you are not alone.
Report an Incident
Choosing to report an incident of sexual violence is a very difficult decision. As with disclosing, each survivor will have unique reasons for choosing to report. It’s important to honour your choice about what you feel you can manage. It’s your choice to share as much or as little information as you are able.
Unsure of what to do
An experience with sexual violence is traumatic and can have various effects on a survivor, regardless of when it happened. Deciding to talk about it is not easy and reactions are different for each survivor. There are many reasons why a survivor may want to keep silent.
Help Someone
You don’t need to be an expert or have all the answers to help a survivor of sexual violence. Anytime a person discloses to an administrator, staff or faculty member they will see that response as representing Brescia. We want to help you feel prepared and know what you can do when you receive a disclosure, openly and compassionately.
Prevention & Education
Get Consent. Build healthy and trusting relationships. Be an active witness. Gain training through on-campus events. There are things everyone can do to prevent sexual violence.
Resources
There are many resources available on campus, in the London community, and online that can share helpful information, provide support, offer help with exploring options, or provide a listening ear. No matter what, there is help available for survivors and supporter/helpers.
