Safety is a priority for Concordia
Concordians are encouraged to report any incident that involves a threat to personal safety. | Photo by Concordia University
With a community population totalling nearly 50,000, Concordia University is the size of a small city. As with any large gathering of people, unfortunate incidents can take place that bring to mind the importance of security for all.
At Concordia’s R. Howard Webster Library, located on the Sir George Williams Campus in downtown Montreal, such an incident recently came to light when a non-student engaged in inappropriate sexual behaviour. This resulted in renewed efforts to bolster on-campus personal safety awareness.
“The university has already increased the visible presence of security agents in the Webster Library,” explains Deputy Provost Lisa Ostiguy. “We are also encouraging all members of the university to report to Concordia security agents any incident that involves personal safety by calling 514-848-3717 as soon as possible.”
Ostiguy says that, “the university continues to be committed to having our resources on campus accessible to a wider community.” She notes that the university will soon spearhead a personal safety awareness campaign for students, staff and faculty, providing tips and tools for safety on campus.
Along with this new awareness campaign, Concordia will continue to offer important resources, including:
- Tips on preventing theft, assault, harassment and fraud, which are available on Concordia’s Security web pages
- A safety escort service for members of the Concordia community working or studying late on campus who wish to be accompanied to a safe space, such as a bus or car
- Rape Aggression Defense training workshops offered by the Security Department to teach women defensive concepts and techniques
- Access to the soon-to-open Sexual Assault Resource Centre, which will provide students with valuable tools concerning all aspects of sexual assault, including awareness, prevention and care
Students should immediately report any incident that has affected their personal safety, or an incident they have witnessed, to a security agent by:
- calling 514-848-3717
- visiting any security desk in Concordia’s buildings.