Surviving The Centre

The following video was released as part of the Students For Survivors campaign at the University of Toronto, which is a collaboration between The PEARS Project, the Faculty of Music Undergraduate Association, and the University of Toronto Students’ Union. It contains real statements made by survivors of gender-based violence at the University of Toronto, which were collected through an ongoing survey released by The PEARS Project. PEARS stands for Prevention, Empowerment, Advocacy, and Response for Survivors. The PEARS Project is a grassroots, trauma-informed coalition that provides support and resources to survivors of sexual violence across the University of Toronto. Founded and led by survivors, PEARS recognizes survivors as leaders in the field and the voices which need to be heard to implement policy change. The tri-campus initiative has trained 10 teams of peer supporters: one at each St. George campus college, as well as at each satellite campus and within the Faculty of Engineering. The survey data from which this data was collected was created in response to a number of complaints surrounding the University of Toronto Sexual Violence Prevention and Support Centre (SVPSC) regarding response time, practices and procedures, accessibility, and consistency. Furthermore, the survey’s goal is to better understand the space needed for improvement and the ways it is supporting the community. The goal is to collect accurate data to gain a realistic, statistical picture of how sexual misconduct is handled by the SVPSC at the University of Toronto and the university’s inaction to protect survivors and penalize perpetrators. The research questions for this project adhere to survivor-centric principles, and as such the work is survivor and student-driven, trauma-informed, anonymous, feminist-oriented, anti-colonial, and intersectional. As the primary stakeholders and users of the SVPSC, student-driven consultation and data collection are imperative for growing trust in this university service. More information about The PEARS Project and the active survey can be seen at: https://linktr.ee/ThePEARSProject Participants were asked to read anonymous statements submitted through the PEARS survey. In order to ensure best practices, a peer supporter was present on set, accommodations were provided to those who requested them. Choice and autonomy were available throughout filming (eg. if students wanted to read the statement ahead of time, select a different statement, stay seated, walk in or walk out, or change their mind and stop filming at any point). Our behind-the-scenes working team was composed entirely of survivors, women, feminized people, and members of the LGBTQ+ community. Students who participated in the video are student leaders (including those in the FMUA, UTSU, and PEARS), or survivors. The PEARS Project believes in compensating students for their labour. All participants were given a gift card for their time. These were funded by the UTSU – thank you to the student union for their funding and support. Thank you to our volunteers and we are incredibly grateful to all the participants who made this possible. Please note a version of this video with audio descriptions will be released shortly. Resources for survivors of sexual violence: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Y... Students for Survivors campaign: https://www.utsu.ca/students-for-surv... The FMUA: https://www.fmua.ca/ The PEARS Project: https://linktr.ee/ThePEARSProject