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Trigger warning: sexual violence. The following is about the review of OC’s Sexual Violence and Misconduct Policy and contains themes that some may find distressing. If you need support, please refer to the supports on OC’s Sexual Violence Awareness page.

In June 2016, Okanagan College approved and implemented its Sexual Violence and Misconduct Policy. This policy was introduced after a careful review of best practices in policy development and other post-secondary institutions’ policies, and consideration of new provincial government legislation.

In early 2019, Okanagan College conducted its first review of the policy and made revisions based on input from employees and students, and a review of relevant case law and other BC PSI policies.

Every three years Okanagan College is required by legislation to review its Sexual Violence and Misconduct Policy in order to examine any potential improvements or amendments to the policy. As such, we are now asking for your input and feedback on the existing policy.

This is a topic and a policy that is of vital importance to Okanagan College’s commitment to ensuring a safe learning and working environment for all. While this policy may not directly impact you, every member of the OC community is encouraged to review it and provide feedback via our online response form. The Sexual Violence and Misconduct Policy can be found on the website.

All feedback will be kept confidential and no identification is required. As such, there will not be any direct responses to comments submitted through the form. We would appreciate all feedback completed by Feb. 21, 2022.

For more information on Okanagan College’s sexual violence processes and protocols, please see www.okanagan.bc.ca/sexualviolence. Related policies include the Discrimination, Bullying and Harassment policy, the Safe Disclosure policy, and the Threatening Behavior and Violence Policy. These can be found on the policy webpage.

There are two other policies connected to the Sexual Violence and Misconduct Policy and you can find the links here:

• Discrimination, Bullying and Harassment Policy
• Student Non Academic Misconduct Policy - Draft