Our Call to Action to the BC Government

AVP was asked to provide feedback on potential changes to the Sexual Violence and Misconduct Policy Act (SVMPA), the provincial legislation that requires all public post-secondary institutions in B.C. to have a policy on sexualized violence prevention and response. 

While this legislation was an essential first step in addressing the crisis of sexualized violence in post-secondary in the province, it remains inadequate. The legislation does not require that institutions meet a bare minimum standard of care for survivors in dealing with sexualized violence reports and investigations. Not only that, but it contains next to no mechanisms for holding institutions accountable for how they are implementing their policies.

We believe that the province, universities, and colleges can do better. 

Based on feedback from our community and research from other student organizations across the country and province, AVP has put together a submission to the Ministry of Advanced Education and Skills Training, outlining our 21 recommendations for amendments to the legislation and related sexualized violence prevention efforts. You can read the full submission document below.

Thank you to all of the survivors who fought for this legislation, and who have continued to advocate for necessary changes to it. We will continue to fight for justice for survivors by advocating for policy changes as a harm-reduction measure and holding the provincial government accountable to its commitments to meaningfully address sexualized violence at our institutions.

In solidarity,

The AVP Team