A Working Group Led by Dr. Shaheen Shariff, co-director
We are an engaged group of McGill researchers, administrators, community members, student groups, activists, artists and policy makers dedicated to transforming sexual violence on campus and beyond. Our working group brings together various existing collaborations such as Networks for Change, ATTSVE, IMPACTS, SACOMSS among others. We collaborate by bridging perspectives of various stakeholders in order to create ongoing sustainable strategies to address the issue of sexual violence.
We seek to understand how to create a cultural climate conducive to sexual wellness across the life cycle and in myriad contexts: online, on-campus, in schools, in social policy and across cultural divides. We also attempt to clarify legal nuances and shifting legal obligations as the boundaries of on-and- offline communications evolve, and as sexting and online forms of sexually demeaning and misogynist communication are increasingly normalized. We envision meaningful investigation of the causes and conditions underlying a culture of consent and how the many manifestations of rape culture can be transfigured.
The McGill campus is both our central locus of operations and laboratory for positive social change in our efforts to work together to support survivors, provide due process for alleged perpetrators and guide leadership towards skillful and just response. At a moment wherein #metoo is pressing the endemic reality of sexual violence into the global spotlight the Sexual Violence Working Group is examining how to bring human wellness into the realm of both individual and societal sexuality.
We are inviting researchers and graduate students, whose research interests are in the areas of sexual violence, consent, sexuality in media, social policy, sexual well-being and similar fields to join us. The interests in these fields preferably should be relevant to the topics of socio-cultural development, educational enhancement and human development and well-being. For further information please contact the Institute at ihdw.education [at] mcgill.ca.
