Sexual Violence at Canadian Universities: Activism, Institutional Responses, and Strategies for Change

This timely collection explores campus sexual violence and its causes, consequences, and strategies for its elimination at Canadian universities.

At least one in four women attending college or university will be sexually assaulted by the time they graduate. Beyond this staggering statistic, the 2013 media coverage of “rape chants” at Saint Mary’s University, misogynistic Facebook posts from Dalhousie University’s dental school, and high-profile incidents of sexual violence at other Canadian universities point to a widespread culture of rape on university campuses and reveal universities’ failure to address sexual violence. As university administrations are called to task for their cover-ups and misguided responses, a national conversation has opened about the need to address this pressing social problem.

This book takes up the topic of sexual violence on campus and explores its causes and consequences as well as strategies for its elimination. Drawing together original case studies, empirical research, and theoretical writing from scholars and community and campus activists, this interdisciplinary collection charts the costs of campus sexual violence on students and university communities, the efficacy of existing university sexual assault policies and institutional responses, and historical and contemporary forms of activism associated with campus sexual violence.

Elizabeth Quinlan holds a Ph.D. in Interdisciplinary Studies. She is an associate professor in the Department of Sociology and an associate member in Women’s and Gender Studies at the University of Saskatchewan. Her program of research, defined by intersections of social health, gender relations, and caring labour, employs arts-based emancipatory methods to enhance the quality and dignity of participants’ lives.|Andrea Quinlan is an assistant professor at the University of Waterloo. Her research examines the intersections of law, science, technology, and medicine in legal responses to sexual violence, as well as the influence of feminist anti-violence movements on sexual assault policy, law, and institutional practice. Her forthcoming book is titled The Technoscientific Witness of Rape: Contentious Histories of Law, Feminism, and Forensic Science.|Curtis Fogel is an associate professor in the Department of Sport Management at Brock University. In 2016, he was appointed as a Research Fellow in Canadian Studies at University of California, Berkeley. He is the author of Game-Day Gangsters: Crime and Deviance in Canadian Football (2013). His research interests include sports law, ethics, doping, and violence.|Gail Taylor is a family peer support coordinator, navigator, & facilitator trainer in Ottawa, Ontario.

Elizabeth Quinlan holds a Ph.D. in Interdisciplinary Studies. She is an associate professor in the Department of Sociology and an associate member in Women’s and Gender Studies at the University of Saskatchewan. Her program of research, defined by intersections of social health, gender relations, and caring labour, employs arts-based emancipatory methods to enhance the quality and dignity of participants’ lives.|Andrea Quinlan is an assistant professor at the University of Waterloo. Her research examines the intersections of law, science, technology, and medicine in legal responses to sexual violence, as well as the influence of feminist anti-violence movements on sexual assault policy, law, and institutional practice. Her forthcoming book is titled The Technoscientific Witness of Rape: Contentious Histories of Law, Feminism, and Forensic Science.|Curtis Fogel is an associate professor in the Department of Sport Management at Brock University. In 2016, he was appointed as a Research Fellow in Canadian Studies at University of California, Berkeley. He is the author of Game-Day Gangsters: Crime and Deviance in Canadian Football (2013). His research interests include sports law, ethics, doping, and violence.|Gail Taylor is a family peer support coordinator, navigator, & facilitator trainer in Ottawa, Ontario.