At Humber, we recognize that we all have a responsibility in preventing and addressing sexual violence. Sexual violence is rooted in gender-based violence, and so men may feel that it is a "women's issue"; however, we acknowledge that men must also take action and hold one another accountable. The Survey on Individual Safety in the Postsecondary Student Population (Statistics Canada, 2019) found that men were less likely to view unwanted sexualized behaviours as harmful, twice as likely to think people are too offended by unwanted sexualized behaviours, and the perpetrators of unwanted sexualized behaviours are more often men.

The Men Seeking Change working group encourages men to reflect on behaviours that could cause harm to others and to intervene when they see these behaviours happening. We will be sharing examples of inappropriate behaviours and ways men could intervene in these behaviours over March and April as a reminder to take action and maintain our culture of respect.

Inappropriate Behaviour: Not intervening when witnessing sexualized behaviours.

Example: Sacha (he/him) has noticed on Instagram that Marc (he/him) repeatedly makes suggestive comments on Leila’s (she/her) photos; Leila never interacts with Marc’s comments. Sacha ignores the comments too.

What could Sacha have done differently?

Sacha could have checked in with Leila to see how she feels about the comments and if she would like Sacha to say something to Marc.

Example: Sam (he/him) and Mary (she/her) go to a party as the semester has ended. While at the party, Mary is dancing, and Sam realizes that Joe (he/him) has been eyeing her for some time. Joe makes his way closer and closer to Mary throughout the night and eventually reaches her. He pulls her close and starts grinding on her. She tries to move away, but he pulls her forcefully closer. 

What could Sam have done differently?  

Sam could have informed Mary about Joe’s constant observation. Sam could also have taken Joe aside to speak with him about the importance of asking for consent and how his behaviour was inappropriate.