Sexualized Violence Community Consultation Role

Sexualized Violence
Community Consultation Role 

DirectSupervisor:Anjali Seshadri,DSU
President 
Term:November 1, 2026
–
March 31, 2027 
Award: $500
honorarium, Union letter of recognition 

About 

The Dalhousie StudentUnion
(“the Union”) isademocratic union thatrepresents and organizes the 20,000+ students at Dalhousie University.TheUnion (1)directsits advocacy priorities tofight for student interests, (2) supports and empowers student leaders to make changein theirenvironment, and (3)provides services and grants
to support students in their academic and social lives.
In pursuit of theseobjectives, the Unionhas a governance structure consisting of a Council of elected representatives from differentUniversityfaculties andstudentcommunities, plus 4 executive officers thatcoordinate the execution of the Union’sresponsibilities to students and its day-to-day operations. 

An area requiring further developmentwithin the Unionisforming an Issues Policyon Sexualized Violence. An Issues Policy is a document that explicates the Union’s stance on an issue important to students, informed byresearch and consultation.
The first step inadopting an Issues Policy is to create a research paper that gives recommendations on whatthat policyshould include. This research paperis the overall
objective of thisrole, but thecriterion forfulfillingthis role is specific tocompleting consultationswith marginalized student populations on sexualized violence.The role’s work involves sitting and reporting on a committeewhich includes two related roles; theResearch Role, and theAcademic Consultation Role.  

Role Requirements  

Thisrequirements of this role are considered fully satisfied
ifyouhave completed aportion of the overall research paper thatincludes the following information: 

• A reviewon
  thepotential forsexualized violence
  against marginalized student populations (“community sexualized violence”); 

• Consultation sessions completed
  withat
  least3
  indigenousstudents,at leastone of whom is a woman or two-spirited; 

• Consultation sessions completed withat least3 2SLGBTQ+ students, at least one of whom is transgender; 

• Consultation sessions completed with atleast 3 international students; and  

• Consultation sessions completed with atleast3 black students. 

Additionally, you may be asked to complete some action items on the research paper from time to time which do not fit neatly within the above requirements. 

A meeting with an individual or group is considered a
valid“consultation” if ituses a pre-defined template to gatherinformation on atleast: 

1. Their views on whether sexualized violence is distinct from other forms of violence, and why. 

1. The observed frequency and severity of sexualized violence againststudents intheir community, includinganyadditional factorsor effects that arespecificto their community. 

1. Their suggested approach onmitigations to prevent the incidence of sexualized violence against theirstudent community. 

1. Theirsuggested approach onrestitution after an incidence of sexualized violencewhere the survivor is a member of their student community. 

This templatewould beagreed upon at the first meeting of the committee. 

Awards 

Successful completion of theproject
will result in being awarded $500 at the end of the project timeline, receiving a letter of recognition from the Union for your service to students, andpotentialopportunities to be involvedfurtherin the Union’s
work.  

Partial completion of therole requirements may result in only a partial amount of the honorarium being awarded. 

Reporting 

An initial briefing will be conducted with therole’sdirect supervisor (Anjali) and the DSU’s Policy and Governance Coordinator to gettrained and up to speed.Your supervisor is also available forassistance byrequest; youshould expect to be supported by the Union in your work! 

Therunning reporting obligations are togive regular updates at committee meetings about progress on your section. The committee meetings happen at least once amonth but may be more frequent if necessary.  

A final debrief will occur with the direct supervisor after the completion of the project, to gather feedback and discuss any further opportunities available at the Union. You will have theoption to present your research paper to Council yourself. 

Forfurther information on the role, please emaildsupres@dal.ca with the subject line “Commissioner Role Interest”.