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St. Clair College has joined the University of Windsor in offering an online reporting service for victims of campus sexual violence.
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The college announced a partnership with the Respect, Educate, Empower Survivors (REES) platform Tuesday. REES is a 24-hour, seven-day-a-week, centralized online reporting and information platform that provides increased options for students, staff, and faculty to report sexual violence.
UWindsor launched REES in September 2021. St. Clair is the first Ontario college to adopt the REES platform.
It offers multiple reporting options and information about support and resources on campus and in the community.
“We are pleased to partner with REES to provide a secure online platform to report incidents of sexual misconduct,” St. Clair President Patti France said. “St. Clair is committed to addressing any incident of sexual violence on campus. All members of the college community will now have a platform to create a record of an incident and the opportunity to personally determine how to report it, whether it is through anonymous channels or through campus connections.”
Sexual violence can include misconduct, harassment, assault and can be experienced in person or online.
According to a 2019 Stats Canada Survey, 71 per cent of postsecondary students witnessed or experienced unwanted sexualized behaviors over the past year, yet less than one in 10 spoke about what happened with someone associated with the school.
St. Clair joins UWindsor, Red River College, Okanagan College, Mount Allison University and St. Francis Xavier University in offering the service.