Dalhousie University to launch sex assault, harassment phone line

For the first time, students at Dalhousie University will be able to access a 24-hour sexual assault and harassment phone line.

It’s a a pilot project that the Student Union hopes become a permanent fixture at the school.

The volunteer-run service starts Sept. 6 and runs until Oct. 14, coordinator Rebecca Rose told CBC’s Information Morning on Wednesday.

So far, about 40 student volunteers have committed to the project and have taken a 16-hour training course.

Volunteers are provided with cellphones, so they can take the calls from anywhere, to provide support.

« Informally we all hear of friends, colleagues, classmates that have dealt with sexual assault and harassment, » says Rose.

Dalhousie Student Union vice president Kathleen Reid says the pilot project is almost entirely funded by the student union and has been in the planning stages for about a year.

Program costs about $40K a year

They hope if there is a demand for the service, the university will pick up the cost of running it on a permanent basis.

Rose is the only paid employee and running the program on a permanent basis is estimated to cost about $40,000 a year.

The phone line is anonymous and people can call in with issues of assault weeks, months or years after the actual incident.

« The phone line is there as a peer to peer active listening support for anyone who has experienced sexual assault, gender-based violence or harassment, » says Reid.

Rose says, as far as she knows, there is no service like it at any other university in the province.

« It’s a soft place to land. You kind of get to get it out, then get referrals, » she said.

« So we will refer people if that is required, but we can refer people to counselling or to a peer support group, what ever works of them. »

Rose said a campus-wide marketing blitz is planned for this week to get the word out to students.