Renovations to the Equity Services office are now complete. The new space in 503 Robertson Hall includes Carleton’s new Sexual Assault Support Centre.
Services include short-term counselling and referrals to other services both on and off campus; information on sexual assault; public education and training on sexual harassment and sexual assault; volunteer opportunities for students as peer educators and peer support workers; and safety planning. Services are free, confidential and available to all students (grad and undergrad), staff and faculty at Carleton.
“May was Sexual Assault Awareness Month but we have a year-around commitment to raising awareness and providing extensive services to survivors,” says Linda Capperauld, director of Equity Services.
One of the more popular reasons that grad students seek out Equity Services is to ask for advice about accommodations for their studies on matters related to religion, disability, family status and pregnancy. The website includes a link to the Student Guide to Academic Accommodation.
“We have had a number of graduate students use our services but there are probably others who are not aware of everything we offer,” says Capperauld. “We know that it can take a lot of courage to seek out help but, once people come to us, an Equity Advisor will listen, and then help them map out a plan that they are comfortable with.”
Other issues that the department has helped graduate students with range from assisting Teaching Assistants with sensitive issues in their classes to promoting outreach for Aboriginal students.
Equity Services bases its work on a comprehensive set of human rights policies and procedures that was adopted by Carleton in 2001.
Thus the department plays an overall role in advocating for human rights and intervening to prevent discrimination and harassment in order to foster equality without regard for ethnicity, culture, gender, race, sexual orientation or (dis)ability.
At the same time, Equity Services takes a proactive role in delivering education, training and enhancing awareness on human rights issues to promote a barrier-free campus. This includes sessions for Teaching Assistants which introduce developing skills in cultural proficiency as a means to become effective in cross-cultural interactions with their students, professors and peers. Ideas of course content viewed from multiple perspectives, varied experiences, and cultural proficiency are introduced as a means for TAs to become effective in diverse classroom environments.
“We are proud of our student-centred approach in Equity Services,” says Capperauld. “We have tried really hard to help any student who walks through our doors to feel safe, supported and to help them make decisions that would work for them.”