Comparative and International Education Society (CIES) 2024 Conference

The Comparative and International Education Society (CIES) 2024 Conference took place in Miami, USA. Research assistant Safeera Jaffer presented on behalf of our iMPACTS team. The presentation was titled “Education, law, and policy: Inspiring positive change through iMPACTS”.

Here is the abstract for the presentation: 

Digital and physical forms of sexual violence (SV) have, over the last two decades, resulted in significant dilemmas for educators, policymakers, and legislators. Responding to SV requires broad cultural shifts and the efforts of many stakeholders, and institutional responses need to be proactive, informed, and cohesive. Universities are well positioned to foster broad and deep societal change in addressing SV through evidence-based research, creative/critical dialogues, and student empowerment. Education, law, and policy constitute a powerful intersection where transformative change can happen through university systems and society at large.

Our research partnership, titled iMPACTS, aims to reclaim the role of universities as unique intellectual, empirical spaces that address the complexities of SV through integrated, multi-sector approaches. This seven-year partnership brings together educational institutions, co-investigators, community partners, and students from across the fields of education, law, and policy, as well as arts, popular culture, healthcare, management, news media, and social media to address SV in university contexts across Canada and internationally. Given the complex nature of this insidious phenomenon, the partnership integrates diverse theoretical perspectives to inform our research methodologies, outcomes, and knowledge mobilization activities.

In this presentation, we highlight conceptual, critical, and legal approaches that informed the development of the iMPACTS partnership, and we examine the power of education, law, and policy in mitigating SV, dismantling rape myths, and teaching about consent. We scrutinize social systems to reorient pedagogical approaches, legal remedies, policy development, and interpersonal relations toward an ethics of care. Acknowledging that SV is a complex, deep-rooted issue that requires a multi-faceted approach, we recommend strategies for addressing SV that are evidence-based, intersectional, and interdisciplinary.

First, we present findings from our work on analyzing legal and policy barriers in SV responses regarding due process and procedural fairness within “university contexts” and online spaces. Second, we discuss how art and popular culture can tacitly condone SV and how student activism can inspire positive change on campus. Third, we examine how technology impacts people’s experiences of SV and consider how artificial intelligence and online algorithms may worsen people’s experiences of SV by amplifying biases, promoting mis/disinformation, and perpetuating misogynistic, harassing, and discriminatory behaviors. We highlight how digital interactions on social media and dating apps can (re)victimize survivors of SV while both facilitating opportunities for and creating challenges with negotiations of consent.

Overall, we provide an overview and examples of the milestones achieved over eight years of research under iMPACTS that bring together international and Canadian universities, community partners, academics, policy makers, and activists. Our presentation will challenge the audience to think critically about contemporary approaches to engaging in SV research, developing evidence-based and creative responses, and implementing meaningful prevention efforts through innovative, intersectional, and interdisciplinary partnered projects in multiple sectors of society.