Health and Wellness

As part of our Mental Health and Wellness initiatives, Mental Health Workshops On-Demand will be available for you to access at a time convenient for you. Learn more.

Consent

Consent means giving agreement to participate in a sexual activity. If sexual activity occurs without consent, it is considered rape or sexual assault, a criminal offence. Consent is part of healthy sexual communication and all people involved must agree to sex every time for it to be consensual.

 

Consent Is:	Consent Is Not:
Freely given: without manipulation, pressure, or the influence of substances. Current: given each time you engage in sexual activity, and you can change your mind at any time. Specific: saying yes to one thing doesn’t mean saying yes to other things. Informed: you need to know what you’re saying yes to. Enthusiastic	Silence: if a person doesn’t reply, there is no consent. Maybe/hesitation Unconscious/sleeping Intoxicated: consent cannot be given by a person incapacitated by alcohol or drugs. Manipulated: consent is not possible if a person uses their position of power/authority to manipulate the other person. Implied: by past behaviour, your relationship status, what you wear, where you are, etc.

 

To learn more about consent check out Consent: It’s Simple as Tea. You can find out more about sexual assault and the law in Canada here.

If you Have Experienced Sexual Assault:

• Find a safe place.
• Connect with a person you trust (friend, family member, counsellor, instructor, etc.).
• Contact one of the organizations/agencies listed in the Resources section.
• Seek medical care (go to your local hospital or the Vancouver General Hospital Sexual Assault Service).
• Call local police detachment or the RCMP if you would like to report the assault.

Sexual Assault

What is sexual assault? Sexual assault is any unwanted sexual contact. Columbia College is committed to making sure that all students can study in a safe and respectful environment, free from sexual assault of any kind. Columbia College offers counselling support for individuals impacted by sexual assault, regardless of when or where the assault occurred. Columbia College counsellors, or specially trained Sexual Assault Response Advisors, can also assist students who would like to report a sexual assault and/or have their assault investigated. However, all students are free to disclose their assault to a counsellor, so that they can get help and support, without making a report or starting an investigation process.

Sexual Assault Policy

Since June 2016, Columbia College has been working on creating a Sexual Assault Policy which outlines the College’s protocols for responding to sexual assault. The process of developing this Policy has included consulting with students and staff members, and multiple stages of editing and revision. The policy will be accessible online and through Student Services staff members, once finalized. Counsellors and Sexual Assault Response Advisors are available to explain the Sexual Assault Policy to you and answer any questions you may have about how it works and how it can apply to you.

Support Services

Women Against Violence Against Women (WAVAW)

Vancouver General Hospital Sexual Assault Service – Jim Pattison Pavilion:

• Go directly to the Vancouver General Hospital Emergency Department at 920 West 10th Avenue (near Broadway and Oak) in Vancouver, BC. Ask for the Sexual Assault Service. Nurses and doctors are on-call 24 hours a day.

Vancouver Rape Relief & Women’s Shelter

• 604-872-8212 (24 hour crisis line)

Vancouver Crisis Centre

• 604-872-3311(24 hours a day, seven days a week)

VictimLinkBC is a toll-free, confidential, multilingual telephone service available across British Columbia 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Call 1-800-563-0808.

All Columbia College computer labs are equipped with Internet access. All students have access to a computer and a Columbia College email account. Student email accounts can be accessed through the Columbia College website. We highly recommend that once you have activated your Columbia College email account, it is best to change your password. If you have a problem using the Wi-Fi or college equipment, you can email helpdesk@columbiacollege.ca or see IT Services on the fourth floor of the Main Campus.

Stay safe on the Internet by adopting best practices outlined below. By protecting yourself and your personal information online, you are also helping to protect the Columbia College community and its data.

Best Practices on Staying Safe Online

• When surfing the web or accessing any online accounts such as online banking, make sure the URL in the address bar is the proper spelling and is valid.
• If an email you receive looks suspicious, do not click on any links in the body of the email message. You can check if a link matches the right website by hovering over it with your mouse. A box with the URL of the link will appear. Check that the URL matches the website URL that the email is asking you go to.
  
• If you receive an email telling you to reset your password or open an important document, go directly to the website instead of clicking on the link provided in the email (unless you initiated the password reset). Alternatively, you may ignore and delete the email if you believe your personal security is not at risk.
• Use secure and strong passwords. Passwords like abc123, and password123 are examples of easily guessable ones. Do not choose passwords that include your name, birthdate, or address as this information may be easily obtained by skilled cyber thiefs and used to guess your password.
• Change your password regularly.
• Do not share user credentials with others.
• Reset your password immediately if you notice changes to your account that you did not make.
• Be cautious and use your best judgement.