Call for Proposals

Theme: Engaging Young People to Prevent Violence against Women on Post-Secondary Campuses

Key Campus Safety Concerns

In the course of conducting Campus Safety Audits over the last 15 years, METRAC has identified several factors of critical importance to safety and risk management, within a diverse campus environment.

These include:

Isolation

By reducing the number of isolated spots on a campus, people are less likely to fear being attacked or assaulted in deserted areas. This measure also reduces the opportunity for criminal or violent activity to occur without being seen, heard or interrupted by witnesses.

Lighting

Good lighting can be a deterrent for criminal activity. If the lighting of a space is adequate, people can survey their surroundings and take precautionary action, if necessary.

Accessibility

Accessible spaces enable people to move about freely and reduce their vulnerability to entrapment and violence. Accessible spaces are more inclusive and can remove barriers to participating in regular activities of work, recreation, community programs, and education, for children, seniors, and people with disabilities.

Signage and Layout

Surroundings with clearly visible signs and a simple, easy to follow layout, can reduce confusion and disorientation. A person who knows her/his whereabouts is less conspicuous and less likely to feel and be more vulnerable to violence.

Sightlines

People who can see clearly what lies ahead and/or behind their path have a better chance of anticipating problems and taking evasive action. Unobstructed views can reduce fear of the unexpected. Objects such as pillars, walls, shrubs, sharp corners, fences, and landscaped hills can block sightlines and create fear by decreasing casual surveillance and increasing the potential for surprise.

Maintenance

Proper maintenance of security systems can increase the ability to prevent and deal with unsafe situations. Well-maintained spaces and lighting can increase opportunities for surveillance, and can reduce incidents of violence.

Attitudes and Behaviours

People's attitudes and behaviours can affect the comfort and safety of a space. Discriminatory actions such as homophobic slurs, name-calling and gay bashing can create feelings of fear for everyone. By having clear policies, interventions, and consequences for dealing with discriminatory attitudes and behaviours, institutions can set appropriate standards for members of the community that can result in more respectful and equitable environments.

Practices and Policies

Safety is impacted by an area's rules or patterns of activity, such as when a place opens or closes and when lights are turned on and off. Practices and policies can benefit some while creating hardship for others. Practices and policies of an institution can create safer environments by fostering a sense of belonging, and by removing barriers to safety for vulnerable groups of people, even if those practices and policies may seem neutral on the surface.

From:  METRAC. Creating Safer Campuses for everyone, Campus Safety Audit Services.  p. 5. www.metrac.org/programs/safety/downloads/
metrac.campus.safety.audit.services.package.pdf

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Date Modified:
2011-12-29