“Preventing sexual violence through safe design”, a toolkit from the Fédération des cégeps 

Securing a large or multi-campus institution can quickly become a complex challenge. To bring clarity to this issue, the Fédération des cégeps offers a practical and structured concept: the safety walk (in French, ‘la marche exploratoire’), based on the six key principles of safe design. In addition, a practical guide, a variety of resources, and podcasts are available in a toolkit that is both comprehensive and user-friendly. 

Securing Campuses: A Requirement of Act P-22.1 

The act to prevent and fight sexual violence in higher education institutions (Act P-22.1) and its 2022–2027 action plan (available in French) require, under Measure 1.3 and Article 3.4, to: “Enhance personal safety through the safe design of higher education environments.” This legal requirement is set against a backdrop in which more than 1 in 3 people reportedly feel somewhat or completely unsafe in at least one area of their Cégep.¹ 

Aware of the requirements imposed by Act P-22.1 and the limited financial, material, and human resources of institutions, the Fédération des cégeps, in collaboration with Sophie Paquin, Ph.D., urban planner, launched a pilot project to train Québec’s colleges and universities in preventing sexual violence through the safe design of campus spaces. Therefore, safety walks were piloted at three volunteer CEGEPs: Cégep de Sorel-Tracy, Champlain Regional College in Saint-Lambert, and Cégep de Thetford Mines. The positive results of these trials led to the creation of the toolkit. 

The Fédération des cégeps’ Toolkit 

This free online toolkit is designed to support sexual violence (SV) professionals, especially in post-secondary institutions subject to Act P-22.1, in developing safer campuses. It offers a practical guide to conducting safety walks as well as various resources (listed below) to understand how design can help prevent both SV and gender-based violence (GBV). 

Tools provided 

The toolkit includes:  

• 2 podcast episodes: Experts, students, and staff come together to share field experiences and highlight the importance of using design to prevent SV-GBV. 

• A guide on preventing SV-GBV through safe design using safety walks: This is a chance to highlight how the Prevention and Youth Services (SPJ) of YWCA Montreal integrate this approach into their support service to help institutions implement Act P-22.1 and prevent SV-GBV in post-secondary settings. 

• Additional resources on space safety and SV-GBV. 

The six principles of safe design 

The six safe design principles for preventing SV-GBV are key areas where improvements can be made to enhance the safety of spaces and increase users’ sense of security, namely: 

1. Visibility ; 

2. Formal surveillance and access to help ; 

3. Signage ; 

4. Design and traffic ; 

5. Maintenance ; 

6. Community support, collaboration, and communications. 

The safety walk 

The safety walk is a bit like a treasure hunt… but for safety. On campus, a group of users – including people familiar with the site, violence prevention experts, and, ideally, members of the campus community, such as staff and students – embarks on a walk through to assess how certain spaces affect user safety. These zones are selected for their tendency to generate unease, their history of incidents, or upcoming construction projects. Following the six safe design principles, the team reviews the strengths and weaknesses of each area and proposes improvements. This collaborative approach is key to transforming campuses into safer and more welcoming spaces for everyone. 

This method helps individuals to reclaim spaces with confidence, while highlighting how space design can play a role in preventing violence. By integrating an intersectional lens, it also helps better understand how perceptions of safety vary across social groups, identify beneficial changes for the entire campus community, and develop effective strategies for reducing violence risks. 

Far from being just a technical exercise, safety planning becomes a true lever for social transformation. Thanks to the Fédération des cégeps toolkit, each institution can initiate a concrete and collective reflection on its spaces, and above all, take meaningful action. Because a well-designed campus is one that protects, welcomes and upholds everyone’s fundamental right to feel safe. So, are you ready to take the first step? 

Contact 

Audrey-Anne Dupré, Project Officer in preventing sexual violence, [email protected]