Genevieve Weigel is someone you should know.
We’re highlighting Genevieve because she provides a vital service for students and because April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month.
“It’s important for students to know that I’m the person they should come to if they want support around sexual violence,” Genevieve said.
When should you connect with Genevieve?
“I’m here when students want support around sexual violence if something has happened, or if they’ve seen something that makes them uncomfortable — they don’t have to be the person who has experienced that violence.”
Connect with Genevieve by phone at 416-415-5000 ext. 3450 or via email at
svra@georgebrown.ca.
Sexual Violence Info
Here’s an overview of what Genevieve does:
- She helps students with formal complaints.
- She connects students to support based on their situation. This could include supporting students to gain access to safety planning, academic accommodation related to their experiences, referrals to counselling, referrals to services outside the college, and more.
- She provides sexual violence education and prevention awareness to the college community.
Sexual violence in an online environment
The potential for sexual violence doesn’t go away because most students are learning off campus. Genevieve said consent is a key element of online interactions, whether they are video conferences, emails, texts, direct messages or group chats.
“We need to have consent any time we’re taking someone’s image,” Genevieve said regarding screenshots and recordings. “And we certainly can’t share that without the person’s consent.”
Online sexual violence can include “things that are known or should be known to be unwelcome,” she said. These could include:
- Making sexualized comments about someone, such as expressing romantic interest or attraction repeatedly.
- Refusing to take no for an answer.
- Taking images of someone (screen grabs) and/or sharing inappropriate images.
- Using social media to stalk or harass someone.
If you've had an online experience that felt uncomfortable and was of a sexual nature, you can talk to Genevieve about it.
“When students come to me I respect their self-determination," she said. “I ask: What is it that you want to do, and how can I help you do that?”
Help cultivate a culture of consent
We are all responsible for the ways that we contribute to the culture at George Brown. You can help create a culture of consent by:
- Using critical thinking to identify the normalization of sexual violence in our spaces, and how this might impact someone.
- Thinking about your own words and actions.
- Saying something when you see something, as long as it’s safe to do so. If you notice something inappropriate, try to call people into conversations in a respectful manner, instead of calling them out.
What is sexual violence?
Sexual violence refers to any sexual act or act targeting a person’s sexuality, gender identity or gender expression. The act can be physical or psychological in nature and is committed, threatened or attempted against a person without the person’s consent. Sexual violence includes sexual assault, sexual harassment, stalking, indecent exposure, voyeurism and sexual exploitation.
Sexual violence is never the fault of the survivor.
