Towards a Justice that Heals: Exploring Transformative and Restorative Justice Models to Address Sexual Violence on Campus.

Towards a Justice that Heals: Exploring Transformative and Restorative Justice Models to Address Harm on Campus.

Responding to sexual violence on campus has long been discussed as a critical gap for post-secondary institutions. Join a panel of sexual violence and human rights advocates to discuss how institutional processes can be sites of violence for survivors coming forward and the importance of offering informed transformative and restorative justice pathways for accountability. The events will highlight the essential principles for using transformative and restorative justice models and offer practical ways to grow our skills and capacity in responding to experiences of gender-based violence. 

We Deserve Healing Not Harm is a speaker series focused on the ongoing widespread criminalization and punishment of survivors of gender-based violence. This series is an opportunity to unpack, explore paths for change and generate collective action. Through speakers, panels, resource sharing, and calls to action we will explore ways to recognize and challenge the intersecting systems that target and harm survivors. 

Join Consent Comes First (X University), Consent is Golden, (external link)  (Wilfrid Laurier University),  (external link)  Carleton University Sexual Assault Support Centre,  (external link) as we work towards systems that heal rather than harm.

Speakers bios: 

Dr. Desiree Anderson

Dr. Desirée Anderson was born in San Diego, California. The child of naval personnel, she had the pleasure of moving around a lot including living in Belgium where she attended High School. She earned her B.A. and Master’s from the University of Louisville and her Ph.D. from the University of New Orleans. Having worked in higher education for over 14 years, Dr. Desirée Anderson has committed her energy to address issues of bias and hate on college and university campuses. Before coming to serve as the Associate Dean of Diversity and Student Affairs at the University of New Orleans, she worked as the Director of the Intercultural Center at Saint Mary’s College of California and previously held positions at Tulane University and Texas State University. Desirée occasionally serves as an adjunct instructor and a Restorative Justice Trainer and Facilitator. Dr. Anderson has also released a book chapter in Colorizing Restorative Justice by Living Justice Press. In her free time, she enjoys reading, singing, dancing, and watching an unnecessary amount of TV.

Carol Bilson MA. 

Latinx (Aurocana-Mapuche/Spanish/German) woman from Wallmapu, Chile; pronouns are she/her, P.h.D student in the program Social Dimensions of Health in the School of Public Health and Social Policy at the University of Victoria. In addition, Carol holds the position of Education Coordinator at the Victoria Women’s Transition House Society (VWTH) where she trains staff, volunteers, fellow community members, and service providers on the issues of Intimate Partner Violence and Trauma-Informed Practices. Carol also co-facilitates cultural safety workshops ( Co-Creating Decolonial Futures) that support organizations' work in more collaborative and relationally accountable ways with Indigenous peoples. Carol has over 12 years of experience in Community Education and was the previous director of the University of Victoria's UVSS anti.violence.project (UVic sexual assault center) where she ushered in multiple sexualized violence awareness campaigns like 'Let's get Consensual', developed train-the-trainer consent workshops, and initiated the first Educational Restorative Process for male students who cause gender-based violence on campus. The work with male students who caused harm led to the development of the first male-identified support group (UVIC Men’s Circle). Carol has developed multiple community workshops on colonization, anti-racism, and gender-based violence, including her most recent work an 8-week program Cultivating Healthy Relationships in Boys and Male Youth. This program, currently being run at the Victoria Women's Transition House Society involving boys who witness domestic violence in their homes.  

Sam Pearson

As Director of the University of Alberta Sexual Assault Centre, Sam Pearson (she/her) provides vision, guidance, and mentorship to a tremendously talented group of volunteers and staff, all of which passionately believe in the transformative power of peer education, community-driven awareness initiatives, and person-centred support. Sam’s years of experience facilitating anti-sexual violence education workshops and providing crisis intervention support has taught her a lot about the importance of creating space for folks to connect to this issue in ways that make sense for them. They've also taught her that people who've experienced sexual violence need more pathways to justice and that those who've engaged in sexually violent behaviour are deserving of opportunities to reflect, grow, and heal. When Sam isn’t working she can be found losing herself in a good movie, or outdoors with her pup."