The head of student services at St. Francis Xavier University says a new campus sexual violence policy should help shift the focus onto perpetrators rather than victims of violence.
The university in Antigonish, N.S., officially launched its new sexual violence policy last week, after 18 months of consultations.
The policy informs students of resources and support available in the community, and sets out the university’s reporting procedures on incidents of sexual violence.
Bob Hale, the head of student services at St. Francis Xavier, said the policy allows students to choose to disclose sexual violence in order to receive support or to report it for the purpose of an investigation.
He says students can move from one process to the other, and can stop the reporting process at any time.
The university spokesman the school wants to make its new policy known to those who experience sexual violence, as well as those responsible for it.
