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.

Unhealthy Behaviour: Making sexual jokes.

Example: Alan (they/them) is talking to Walter (he/him) and Micah (he/him) about their love of the piano. Walter makes a comment about how Alan must be good with their hands; Alan and Micah laugh uncomfortably.

What could Micah have done differently?

Micah could have shared that he felt the comment was inappropriate. Micah could also check in with Alan later to see how they felt about the comment.

Example: Ira (he/him) receives a joke from Matthew (he/him) on a WhatsApp group chat. The joke has a sexual image and derogatory comments about a woman. Aida (she/her) says she’s offended by the joke and asks Matthew to apologize. Ira says Aida is overreacting.

What could Ira have done differently?

Ira could have reaffirmed Aida’s feelings, and encouraged Matthew to apologize.