MONTREAL — Quebec universities are reviewing their sexual-violence policies following the introduction of a provincial bill that would require them to develop guidelines for intimate relationships between students and faculty. Quebec Higher Education Minister Helene David said the bill isn’t intended to ban sexual relationships between students and faculty members, but rather to ask schools to reflect on how to address such situations and ensure students aren’t harmed. “There’s a power imbalance between students and profs, for example, that in my opinion makes consent more or less impossible.”Some high-profile U.S. universities, including Yale and Stanford, have banned all relationships between teachers and undergraduate students, as well as relationships between teachers and students they supervise. A spokesperson for Universite de Montreal said the school is currently working on getting guidelines on intimate relationships into its policy. But she says the bill is an important step toward letting students know their rights and options in the case of an assault.

Source: National Post November 15, 2017 21:45 UTC