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Paper short abstract:

By looking at the case of the social movement against sexual violence in Quebec universities, this presentation investigates the activists’ understanding of sexual violence in academic context, the institutional barriers they confront, and the strategies they adopt to negotiate power relations.

Paper long abstract:

In 2016, a student perpetrated a series of sexual assaults against women in the residences of Université Laval (Quebec). The event gained extensive media coverage, generated a broader debate on violence against women, and sparked demonstrations of solidarity for victims in several cities of Quebec. Thanks to the student and feminist mobilisation that has intensified since 2012 against the lack of institutional responses to sexual violence, in 2017 the Quebec government passed the law 22.1, an act to prevent and fight sexual violence in higher education institutions. The law mandates universities to create policies against sexual violence, a code of conduct for student-professor intimate relationships, and educational programs for all members of the academic community. Furthermore, the law requires universities to include members of the student community in the standing committee for the development, implementation and revision of the policy.

Quebec legislative change represents an opportunity to investigate the transformative potential of social movements against sexual violence in university. Through narrative interviews, I look at the experiences of activists, researchers and social workers with the policy-making process to analyse institutional processes of resistance and change within academia. Starting from an activist’s claim that “universities are people, not just structures!”, this presentation investigates the activists’ understanding of sexual violence in academic context, the institutional barriers they confront, and the strategies they adopt to negotiate power relations.