Abstract
University campuses across Canada and beyond are making significant capital investments to upgrade their built environments. They are creating modern and experimental active learning spaces. Classroom designs now regularly include interactive technology, address greater accessibility, and flexible seating and tables, all with the intention of enhancing student participation. These innovations, albeit welcome, are missing a critical awareness of the gendered use of space. A significant number of women and non-binary students are experiencing violence and harm at college and university campuses, findings which have been reproduced in many studies over the past three decades. Both the experience, fear and threat of violence in its many forms prevents students from fully engaging in their learning and in co-curricular campus activities – in effect, an impediment to equal access to education. Design and acts of violence or harm in public spaces do not have a simple causal relationship, however, there is evidence that suggests that design can have an impact on opportunities for crime to be committed. This presentation discusses the findings from engaging women and non-binary students in a process of conducting gender-focused safety ‘audits’ of their campus, a process whereby their experiences inform the changes that are needed to make the place feel safer. The impact of such findings has already been used to inform campus police and facilities, architecture, and planning services, as well as the Dean of Students. The ultimate impact is that students report feeling safer when the concerns and needs they identify are addressed.
Presenters
Connie GubermanAssociate Professor, Teaching, Historical and Cultural Studies, University of Toronto Scarborough, Canada
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
Gender, Social Impact Analyses, Inequality
