NU working to end sexual violence

Nipissing University unveiled its campaign to end sexual violence last week during a presentation to students, faculty, staff and community members.Named, #nuperspective, the campaign seeks to end sexual violence through education, prevention and outreach. The campaign launch featured the premier of a new video (see below), and speeches from Casey Phillips, assistant vice-president, students; Dr. Mike DeGagné, president and vice-chancellor; Paul Cook, chief of police, North Bay Police Service; and Al McDonald, Mayor of the City of North Bay.

Dr. Rachel Griffin, was scheduled to give a keynote address as part of the event; however, due to a cancelled flight, she was unable to attend. Her lecture will be rescheduled soon. The key message of the event, that Nipissing University intends to play a leading role in ending sexual violence, was heard loud and clear.

“I think Nipissing should be congratulated for their leadership in engaging students on a very difficult topic,” said Chief Cook. “It’s great to see the university has supports in place for victims and that they are setting up a culture that makes it very clear what’s acceptable behaviour and what’s not.”

Phillips believes the #nuperspective hashtag will be an effective way of linking the various educational and outreach events together while helping spread the word through social media.

“We included the hashtag in our campaign because we wanted something that students would feel comfortable with,” said Phillips. “Social media is a platform for the campaign because we want to engage all members of the community to start a conversation about sexual violence and prevention.”

Nipissing also unveiled anew website for #nuperspective, offering resources for survivors, supporters, and NU community members.
The website includes information on how to help support a survivor, links to NU policies and procedures, information for survivors and community resources, as well as prevention and education events on campus.

Look for many more #nuperspective events and outreach opportunities in the coming months.

Join us, and live the #nuperspective