Entitled young men and powerless young women: an examination of how police and post-secondary school personnel view survivors and campus sexual violence

Abstract

The police, campus security, and post-secondary school officials continue to pose challenges to student survivors who require guidance and resources from their institutions after experiencing sexual violence. Recently, the provincial government of Ontario, Canada, mandated that all post-secondary institutions in Ontario adopt some form of a stand-alone sexual violence policy for their campuses. Yet, little is known about how post-secondary schools have implemented this mandate. This article explores the perspectives of individuals responsible for responding to sexual violence on campus through interviews with post-secondary school officials and police officers. We examine how they understood and discussed sexual violence responses on campus. More specifically, we examine whether these understandings draw on carceral or anti-carceral frameworks. Utilising a critical feminist anti-carceral approach, we explore ways that the current responses on campus to sexual violence are problematic.