New risk assessment tool to help address campus sexual violence

A new national risk assessment tool will be available in Fall 2023 to address and prevent sexual and gender-based violence at postsecondary institutions. The tool was designed by a team co-led by MacEwan University Professor Sandy Jung and Toronto Metropolitan University Faculty Member Jesmen Mendoza. It is intended to help campus administrators and support staff respond to incidents and formulate policies regarding sexual assault and gender-based violence in a survivor-centered, trauma- and violence-informed way. “To build safer campuses, we can start by using a community risk assessment to make difficult decisions about a person who has caused harm, and where to allocate resources to prevent future incidents of sexual and gender-based violence,” write Jung and Mendoza.