Policy review
Equity and Human Rights (EQHR) is currently reviewing the University of Victoria's Sexualized Violence Prevention and Response (SVPR) Policy.
At Phase 4 of the policy review process, we are excited to share a draft of the revised policy for feedback. From April 14 to May 1, students, staff, faculty and broader community members are invited to review the policy.
Note: If you are interested in learning more about options for reporting sexualized violence, please contact Zahra Ghoreishi at eqhr01@uvic.ca. Additional support options are found on our get support page.
About the Policy
The Sexualized Violence Prevention and Response Policy (GV0245) was created in recognition that sexualized violence is a pervasive problem both on and off campus and the university has an important role to play in both preventing and responding to sexualized violence. UVic’s initial SVPR Policy was launched in 2016.
In addition to providing UVic’s definition of sexualized violence, the policy and its related procedures outline how someone can bring forward reports or concerns of sexualized violence, what support someone who has experienced harm can expect to receive and various options for addressing harm. Read the current SVPR Policy.
The Policy applies to and supports all University community members, including but not limited to:
- students (including credit and non-credit students, distance students and continuing studies students);
- faculty, librarians and staff members;
- post-doctoral fellows and visiting researchers;
- university leaders (including the members of Board of Governors and Senate).
Preparatory work
Over the past two years, EQHR has led an extensive review of UVic’s Discrimination and Harassment Prevention and Response (D&H) Policy. The new D&H Policy was drafted based on the structure and procedures of the SVPR Policy meaning the policies share significant similarities.
Given recent review of the D&H Policy and that the SVPR Policy was reviewed in 2020/2021 with extensive community consultation, this year’s review will have a focused scope. To avoid over consulting our university community, we plan to draw on the relevant feedback already gathered and focus public consultation on the areas unique to the SVPR Policy or where there are proposed substantial changes.
Timeline
Phase 1: Broad engagement (September - October 2024; complete)
Phase 2: Focused review (October - December 2024; complete)
Phase 3: Technical review (January - March 2025; complete)
Phase 4: Final comments (April 15 - May 1, 2025)
Phase 1: Broad engagement
September - October 2024 (complete)
University community members were invited to provide feedback on the key areas of the policy review by completing an online survey or attending an engagement event.
During this time, EQHR also reached out to those who have recently interacted with the policy and who have closed their files. These individuals were offered the opportunity to provide feedback on the policy directly to the EQHR policy review team or to an external consultant.
Phase 2: Focused review
October – December 2024 (complete)
In the fall a group of students, staff, faculty and other UVic employees met once every two weeks to review summaries of Phase 1 data and form recommendations on key policy sections. This group provided an opportunity for more in-depth community engagement to inform policy revisions.
SVPR Advisory Group Description
Phase 3: Technical review
January – March 2025 (complete)
To wrap up the review process, EQHR brought together the units with specific responsibilities under the policy (i.e., Office of Student Life, Human Resources, Faculty Relations, Campus Security, and Occupational Health, Safety and the Environment) to conduct a technical review of key changes to the policy.
Phase 4: Final comments
April 15 – May 1, 2025
After revising the SVPR Policy based on community consultation, we are excited to share a draft policy for feedback. From April 15 to May 1, students, staff, faculty, and broader community members are invited to review the policy along with the following supporting documents:
- Policy Review Primer – this deck of slides highlights key policy sections for those interested in providing feedback who do not wish to review the entire policy
- Summary of Procedures – the final policy will be accompanied by supporting procedures, we’ve summarised them for your consideration
We welcome any feedback on the policy, general and specific, before May 1. If you are providing feedback on a specific section, please note the section number in your response. All feedback can be emailed to policyreview@uvic.ca or if you’d prefer to submit your feedback anonymously you can use this survey.
Phase 5: Approval
June 2025
After final revisions, we anticipate the revised policy and procedures will go to the Board of Governors for approval. After the approval process is complete, EQHR will inform the university community and the updated policy will take effect.