Toronto Met students lead national movement to end sexual violence in high schools
![A virtual meeting with 11 people on screen](/content/dam/news-events/news/2022/05/web-groupphoto.jpg)
Started by the Consent Action team at the university, High School Too is a network of student leaders from across Canada working to end sexual violence in secondary schools.
Studies show that sexual violence is rampant in high schools across the country, but there are few effective policies in place to protect students. Since last fall, high school students all over Canada have been organizing walkouts as calls for change grow louder.
“We recognized how many student walkouts were happening in high schools and how many students were protesting sexual violence,” said Carolyn Bridgeman, a journalism student at Toronto Metropolitan University and member of the Consent Action Team.
“There were around 200 students at the walkouts in Ontario, some as young as 12 years old. We started thinking about what we can do to help them and how we could address this problem.”
The Consent Action Team is part of a peer leadership program at the university created by Consent Comes First, the Office of Sexual Violence Support and Education. Students get comprehensive training on sexual violence prevention, skills to support survivors and creating a culture of consent on campus.
With guidance and mentorship from Consent Comes First, Bridgeman started High School Too (external link) as a project to mobilize more high school students and support their advocacy efforts. The initiative has now expanded into a national movement urging school boards and different levels of government to enact concrete policy, protocol and education reforms to make sure high schools are safe places to learn.
“A 2019 CBC survey (external link) found that 15 per cent of girls and nine per cent of boys between the ages of 14 to 21 have been subjected to a forced sexual act by a peer,” said Keneisha Charles, a social work student and member of the Consent Action Team.
“A quarter of them encountered it for the first time before Grade 7, and more than half of them first experienced it between grades 7 and 10. One in three students in grades 9 and 10 who had dated, reported dating violence victimization,” Charles said during a press conference to launch the campaign on April 12.
“It becomes even worse for students who are multiply marginalized such as Black, Indigenous, racialized, disabled, queer and trans students. According to GLSEN’s school climate survey (external link) , 58 per cent of LGBTQ+ students had been sexually harrassed in the past year. Thirteen per cent reported that this harassment occurred often or frequently.”
Through High School Too’s network of students across Canada, the campaign hopes to end sexual violence in secondary schools and create safer environments for young people.
![High School Walkouts](/content/dam/news-events/news/2022/05/High-School-Walkouts.png)
There have been 17 student-led walkouts in the country since last fall. The High School Too project is mobilizing students in various provinces and supporting their efforts to prevent and address sexual violence. Graphic by Consent Comes First.
- Feb. 17: Rutland Secondary, Kelowna Secondary.
- Feb. 14: Mount Boucherie; Central Okanagan.
- Nov. 16: Central Memorial; Western Canada.
- Nov. 22: Harry Wise Wood; Centennial High.
- Nov. 25: Foothills Composite.
- Oct. 8: Waterdown District; St. Catharines.
- Nov. 10: Cathra Park Secondary.
- Nov. 24: Pauline Johnson Collegiate.
- Nov. 25: Pauline Johnson Collegiate.
- Nov. 25: Nelson High.
- Oct. 12: Charlottetown Rural.
- Oct. 19: Avon High School.
10 Calls to Action
Reflecting on their own high school experiences and watching younger students take action, the Consent Action Team was committed to bringing about change. They realized how the lack of resources, policies, education and public discourse addressing sexual violence in high schools was contributing to the growing problem.
“There were never any conversations around this. It wasn’t something we were able to challenge because we couldn’t name it in the first place,” Charles said. “Partnering with these young people who have similar experiences, getting to rewrite that story and creating a better experience for future students is very valuable.”
The team started engaging with politicians, educators and young activists in the country to learn more about existing policies and coordinate their efforts to make change. They developed a list of actions that school boards, provincial and territorial governments, and the federal government could take to address sexual violence in high schools.
Their 10 Calls to Action (external link) include ending dress code policies to enable welcoming and inclusive environments, developing provincial standards for collecting data on sexual violence against high school students, establishing a National Consent Awareness Week in schools during the third week of September and ensuring that young people are prioritized in the National Action Plan on Gender-Based Violence.
Sustainable funding for curriculum development and education initiatives for students as well as trauma-informed training for staff is another priority highlighted by the team.
“Consent and sexual violence are never even talked about in high school. If you didn’t take gym class past Grade 9, you would not even have health class,” said Lidija Projkovski, a child and youth care student part of the Consent Action Team. “Seeing that high school students are noticing this, taking action and using their voices to advocate for their safety and needs has inspired me to support them through it.”
The team says that more educational initiatives around sexual violence, relationships and consent education are needed, in addition to encouraging student-led consent committees at schools and implementing sexual violence and harassment policies in every school board.
“Whether it’s public education or private, there is so much shame and stigma around conversations about consent. It’s not considered attractive to talk about it and people are shamed for bringing it up,” said Sofia Alda, a social work student also with the Consent Action Team.