Quebec plans to spend millions to fight sexual violence in colleges and universities.
Minister of Higher Education Pascale Déry was in Montreal on Monday, unveiling the details of a new five-year, $54-million plan to counter sexual violence in higher education.
The measure comes after two separate studies indicate that more than a third of college and university students report having experienced at least one form of sexual violence since their arrival at the institution.
The $54 million over five years represents a $25 million increase over the previous budget. The lion's share, $37.5 million, will go directly to the institutions, in particular for the implementation of one-stop shops to handle cases of this nature and for the hiring of resources specialized in accompanying victims of sexual violence.
The rest of the money will go to partners who will use their expertise in the field to help institutions, as well as to research the phenomenon of sexual violence in institutions.
Finally, $4 million will be devoted to the safe development of certain high-risk areas identified as such in the institutions.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Feb. 13, 2023.
