We have included here information and recommendations from a number of sources calling for increased reporting options, data collection and trauma-informed responses.

Courage to Act

Key recommendations to PSIs:

“Utilize a trauma-informed approach to support services, education, and reporting.” (point 2, page 21, Courage to Act Report 2022)

“Establish centralized data collection, reporting, and public disclosure of statistics.” (point 6, page 21, Courage to Act Report 2022)

“Policies and practices must aim to minimize the potential for harm and re-traumatization, and should enhance safety, comfort, healing and resilience for all parties involved. A trauma-informed approach to support services, education, and reporting recognizes the connections between violence, trauma, and negative health outcomes. It additionally understands that trauma greatly impacts memory as well as the ability to recall events in a detailed or chronological manner and behaviours.” (Courage to Act: Developing a National Draft Framework to Address and Prevent Gender-Based Violence at Post-Secondary Institutions in Canada, pg. 25)

“PSIs and their community partners must understand the scope and prevalence of GBV in order to properly assess if their interventions are having the intended impact - ending GBV on campus.  Using data collected reliably over time, PSIs can assess changes in prevailing attitudes around GBV. This information can then be used to evaluate programs and policies to establish best practices in GBV intervention and prevention, which includes disaggregated data regarding race, ability, gender identity, gender expression, migration status, and Indigenous identity in order to understand how different communities may be disproportionately affected and require distinct responses.” (Courage to Act: Developing a National Draft Framework to Address and Prevent Gender-Based Violence at Post-Secondary Institutions in Canada, pg. 26)

“Ensuring that there is a coordination of data collection on GBV, including information about disclosures and reports, will allow PSIs to have a clear indication of emerging trends, needs and gaps in service provision.” (Courage to Act: Developing a National Draft Framework to Address and Prevent Gender-Based Violence at Post-Secondary Institutions in Canada, pg. 27)

“GBV programs and policies cannot be properly designed, implemented, and evaluated without adequate data.” (Courage to Act: Developing a National Draft Framework to Address and Prevent Gender-Based Violence at Post-Secondary Institutions in Canada, pg. 28)

Peer Reviewed - Campus

“A survivor-centred approach should be focused first on ensuring that survivors are offered immediate emotional and practical support, information about their options related to medical care and reporting, and supports related to decisions about what to do next. This can help survivors to begin to regain a sense of control over their lives (Richards et al. 2017; Strout, Amar, and Astwood 2014 in Crocker, Minaker & Nelund, 2020).

“Research demonstrates that rates of sexual violence (across the spectrum from unwanted touching to unwanted penetrative sex acts) across college and university campuses have remained relatively stable over the past 30 years” (Banyard et al., 2005; Rozee & Koss, 2001 in Marques, Couture-Carron, Frederick & Scott, 2020).

“The underreporting of campus sexual violence should concern college and university administrators as choosing not to report can: (a) preclude the apprehension of alleged perpetrator(s); (b) impede the victims access to, or even knowledge of, potential services and resources; but also (c) may serve to create an overall climate of distrust and overall lack of confidence that campuses are safe spaces.” (Marques, Couture-Carron, Frederick & Scott, 2020).

“More than 90% of PSI students do not report their assault to school authorities” (Fisher et al., 2000; Krebs et al., 2007, 2016, in Shankar & Tavcer, 2021).

OUSA

“…institutional hierarchies can make it difficult for survivors to feel comfortable disclosing and/or reporting their experiences and the boundaries of institutional confidentiality policies foster a fearful environment for disclosures or formal reports.” (Dunne et al., Policy Paper: Gender-based & Sexual Violence Prevention & Response. Toronto: Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance, 2020).

“Without survivor’s control over disclosure and reporting guidelines, there is a potential for re-traumatization of survivors, yet universities sometimes decide for survivors whether or not to begin an investigation against the person who has caused harm and there is no metric for assessing “harm to the community.” (Dunne et al., Policy Paper: Gender-based & Sexual Violence Prevention & Response. Toronto: Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance, 2020).

“Lack of consistent and appropriately-collected data creates gaps in knowledge that impede effective prevention and response strategies, as policy and procedural decisions regarding GBV prevention are not always grounded in evidence or established best practices.” (Dunne et al., Policy Paper: Gender-based & Sexual Violence Prevention & Response. Toronto: Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance, 2020).

“…there is limited qualitative and quantitative data available to accurately gauge the climate of attitudes and behaviors related to GBV at post-secondary institutions in the province, or to frame public policy decisions. Without adequate frequency of consistent data collection and opportunities for students to provide feedback, it is difficult to accurately measure changes in the climate of attitudes and behaviors over time.” (Dunne et al., Policy Paper: Gender-based & Sexual Violence Prevention & Response. Toronto: Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance, 2020).

National Center for Injury Prevention and Control

“Using data and research findings about sexual violence on campus, such as demographics, needs assessments, prevalence, reporting data, or climate surveys, can be used to tailor activities to specific communities on campus to be more impactful.” (Sexual Violence on Campus: Strategies for Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control: Department of Violence Prevention, November 2016. page 10).

“Ensure that programming for prevention and response is survivor-centered and trauma-informed. While prevention programming doesn’t target survivors specifically, survivors will be in the audience. This means prevention efforts should strive to support survivors’ needs, avoid victim blaming, and not re-traumatize a survivor. For example, sufficient reporting structures and well-trained staff within campus conduct boards/panels are needed to promote and improve reporting and response processes. Survivors should be made to feel supported and connected to resources on campus and in the community.” (Sexual Violence on Campus: Strategies for Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control: Department of Violence Prevention, November 2016. page 12).

“Survivors of sexual violence who seek help or intervention from their college or university should encounter a system that provides coordinated, confidential support and addresses their needs in a non-judgmental environment. Students should be made to feel confident and safe in reporting policies and accessing available resources.” (Sexual Violence on Campus: Strategies for Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control: Department of Violence Prevention, November 2016. page 16).

American Phycological Association

“We need interventions on the individual level, on the social level and on the institutional level. We need more than one approach on any given campus.” (Claude Ann Mellins, PhD, Columbia University Medical Center) Winerman, L. Making Campuses Safer. American Phycological Association, October 2018.)