Our approach

When working with the Sexualized Violence Resource Office (SVRO), you can expect the support and services you receive to be:

• Trauma-informed
• Person or Survivor-centered
• Informed by harm reduction models 
• Grounded by human rights principles
• Anti-oppressive
• Intersectional

Trauma-informed

Trauma-informed means "incorporating an understanding of the impact that trauma, including Sexualized Violence, has on a person’s life, to minimize re-victimization, and support recovery and empowerment.”

At the SVRO, trauma-informed approaches are incorporated into everything we do, from the welcoming environment in our office to how we coordinate wrap-around services and facilitate warm referrals for anyone needing on- or off-campus resources.

Our educational workshops also incorporate a trauma-informed approach and acknowledge that survivors are often in the room, providing options to participate and seek support if needed.

Person or Survivor-centered

Survivor-centered means "prioritizing the safety and choices of Survivors. Survivor-centred means to treat Survivors with dignity and respect rather than blame, hostility, or suspicion and to respect their rights, interests and agency by allowing them to make decisions about whether to file a Report and the extent of their participation.”

Person-centered means collaborating with the person when planning and developing services for them. It also means that services are individualised for each person’s unique needs. At the SVRO, this could look like providing referrals to identity-specific resources or adapting procedures to accommodate neurodivergence.

Harm reduction

Drawing on a harm reduction model means prioritizing self-determination and bodily autonomy to minimize the harms associated with stigmatized activities, such as substance use, self-injury, or sex work. A harm reduction approach provides non-judgmental resources and services to mitigate risk and expand choices available, while acknowledging that people are the experts of their own experiences and know the best ways to keep themselves safe.

Human rights principles

The Sexualized Violence Prevention and Response Policy recognizes that “Sexualized Violence is a human rights violation and accordingly the principles and approaches to address Sexualized Violence must be linked to the University’s broader equity and anti-discrimination initiatives and goals.” The SVRO is in the Equity and Human Rights department to ensure this commitment to human rights is central to sexualized violence education and response on campus.

A human rights approach acknowledges that everyone on campus should be able to learn, work and live in an environment free of sexualized violence. To work towards this, the SVRO engages in sexualized violence education, prevention and awareness building activities and encourages all campus community members to contribute towards building a culture of consent, dignity and diversity.

Anti-oppressive

Anti-oppression recognizes that systemic oppression disempowers and marginalizes certain social groups in order to privilege those with power in society. An anti-oppressive approach seeks to educate about the interconnection between various forms of oppression, to mitigate the effects of oppression and to advocate for equity. The Sexualized Violence Prevention and Response (SVPR) Policy commits to grounding the SVRO’s education and training in an anti-oppressive understanding.

In addition to the SVPR Policy, EQHR holds the Discrimination and Harassment Prevention and Response Policy. Housing both policies in one department acknowledges that many incidents of violence involve multiple forms of oppression and therefore allows EQHR to take a coordinated and intersectional approach in addressing incidents and systemic oppression on campus.

Intersectional

Intersectional refers to “the ways in which a person’s experiences are shaped by the interaction of different social positions (for example, sex, sexual identity, gender identity or expression, Indigeneity, racial or ethnic background, ability, faith, socioeconomic status, migration status, and age). These interactions are rooted in interconnecting systems and structures of power and produce intersecting forms of privilege and oppression shaped by colonialism, racism, homophobia, ableism, patriarchy, transphobia, queer antagonism, trans antagonism, bi antagonism, and/or any other form of discrimination.”

Our approach is grounded in an understanding that each person’s experience of sexualized violence is different based on their unique social locations and services therefore need to be adjusted accordingly.