Make a big change

• Organize on Campus
• Host events
• Invite speakers to campus
• Offer training on campus
• Partner with men on campus

An effective way to make change on your campus is to organize with other people to make things happen. There may be student groups on campus you can join, or you can start your own.

• Look to places like your Students’ Union or campus PIRG (Public Interest Research Group) for possible training and funding opportunities.
• Reach out to allies like your Students’ Union representatives, campus residence assistants, and your professors.
• Use campus resources and student services to help support your work.

The Canadian Federation of Students has an excellent Campus Toolkit for Combating Sexual Violence. It has excellent suggestions and strategies for effective organizing on campus.

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Events that mark important days is a great way to raise awareness and engage people in conversations about the abuse and violence that happens in our communities and how to work together to stop it. These events can also be a way to invite people to get involved and join you in organizing bigger actions and events to create change on campus.

Some important dates:

• Third week of September – Take Back the Night
• October 4 – Sisters in Spirit Vigils and Events
• November 20 – Transgender Day of Remembrance
• November 25 – International Day to End Violence Against Women
• December 6 – National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women
• February 14 – Annual Memorial March for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women
• March 8 – International Women’s Day

For more important dates, see the CFS’s Campus Toolkit for Combating Sexual Violence.

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Public lectures are a great way to reach a large amount of people and raise awareness of the issues. If there is a speaker you or your group would like to bring to campus, reach out to them. Most speakers have agents that coordinate their schedules.

Many speakers also offer workshops where they go more in-depth and provide training. Workshops are an excellent way to build capacity on campus. They help people understand the issues and build skills to address problems and make change. There will be costs, including travel. There are many ways you can raise money to cover the costs.

• Partner with other groups on campus
• Talk to your professors – sometimes they have grants that include a travel budget for visiting scholars
• Apply for funding from your Student’s Union or campus PIRG
• Partner with other organizations in the community
• Host fundraisers

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Work with the people organizing student orientation to include workshops and presentations about relationship violence and sexual assault. This is an excellent opportunity to reach students and set the right tone on campus at the beginning of the year. Many residences also have orientation sessions that you could approach.

Target student leaders that are already involved in the campus community. Their words carry weight and they help shape campus norms and values.

Ask First at the University of Toronto has resources including Guides for orientation planners and leaders.

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Working with men is important and there are many male allies that want to help end gender-based violence.

Providing training to men on campus can help them understand the issues and help prevent violence. Working with men’s sports teams, fraternities, and other mens’ groups can be an effective way to target men who are leaders in the community.

There are some fantastic organizations with resources that can help.

• I am a Kind Man
• Men Can Stop Rape
• Mentors in Violence Prevention (MVP)
• The White Ribbon Campaign

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