Government grant funding will help Alberta's post-secondary institutions to support sexual violence training, as well as develop more current policies.--NEWS FILE PHOTO
kking@medicinehatnews.com
Alberta’s government announced Tuesday it would be providing a $2.5-million grant to post-secondary institutions to support sexual violence training and awareness programs, and requested all post-secondary institutions to revisit existing sexual violence policies.
“This investment will help post-secondary institutions work directly with students to develop sexual violence policies that will help protect everyone on campus, prevent sexual violence and ensure all students get the support they need,” Associate Minister of Status of Women Whitney Issik said in a Tuesday statement.
Officials at Medicine Hat College are on board with the government’s recommendation, confirming to the News the college’s existing policy will be reviewed in 2022.
“We have a policy dating back to (2019). It is up for review in September of 2022, so the timing for us is really great,” Sue Fitzsimmons, MHC’s acting vice president of academics, told the News.
“My sense is our current policy is quite well aligned with the philosophy the government is asking us to incorporate … We will be taking a look at our policy to ensure it aligns with government expectations. We’ll probably see some language changes, but I don’t anticipate a whole lot of additional changes in terms of how we address gender-based violence on campus.”
Following research, various stakeholders at the college will take part in reviewing both the policy and procedure, Fitzsimmons says. She hopes MHC may also join in conversations with other provincial post-secondary institutions to develop current materials and training.
“MHC is pleased government continues to pay attention to this issue,” Fitzsimmons said. “It’s something society really has been shining a light on the last number of years and we very much … appreciate the opportunity to continue to look at it (as well as) appreciate the government’s financial support.
