Sexualized Violence Research Role

Sexualized Violence Research Role

Direct Supervisor: Anjali Seshadri, DSU President
Term: November 1, 2026 – March 31, 2027
Award: $500 honorarium, Union letter of recognition

About

The Dalhousie Student Union (“the Union”) is a democratic union that represents and organizes the 20,000+ students at Dalhousie University. The Union (1) directs its advocacy priorities to fight for student interests, (2) supports and empowers student leaders to make change in their environment, and (3) provides services and grants to support students in their academic and social lives. In pursuit of these objectives, the Union has a governance structure consisting of a Council of elected representatives from different University faculties and student communities, plus 4 executive officers that coordinate the execution of the Union’s responsibilities to students and its day-to-day operations.

An area requiring further development within the Union is forming an Issues Policy on Sexualized Violence. An Issues Policy is a document that explicates the Union’s stance on an issue important to students, informed by research and consultation. The first step in adopting an Issues Policy is to create a research paper that gives recommendations on what that policy should include. This research paper is the overall objective of this role, but the criterion for fulfilling this role is specific to history and literature review (see “Role Requirements”). The role’s work involves sitting and reporting on a committee which includes two related roles; the Academic Consultation Role, and the Community Consultation Role.

Role Requirements

This requirements of this role are considered fully satisfied if you have completed a portion of the overall research paper that includes the following information:

• Rationale on adopting a Sexualized Violence Issues Policy;
• A comprehensive history of approaches to Sexualized Violence support and advocacy at Dalhousie University and the Dalhousie Student Union; and
• A general review of relevant literature on sexualized violence, a specific review of relevant policies from other student unions, and a general overview of trauma-informed and survivor-centric procedures in sexual misconduct cases.

Additionally, you may be asked to complete some action items on the research paper from time to time which do not fit neatly within the above requirements.

Awards

Successful completion of the project will result in being awarded $500 at the end of the project timeline, receiving a letter of recognition from the Union for your service to students, and potential opportunities to be involved further in the Union’s work.

Partial completion of the role requirements may result in only a partial amount of the honorarium being awarded.

Reporting

An initial briefing will be conducted with the role’s direct supervisor (Anjali) and the DSU’s Policy and Governance Coordinator to get trained and up to speed. Your supervisor is also available for assistance by request; you should expect to be supported by the Union in your work!

The running reporting obligations are to give regular updates at committee meetings about progress on your section. The committee meetings happen at least once a month but may be more frequent if necessary.

A final debrief will occur with the direct supervisor after the completion of the project, to gather feedback and discuss any further opportunities available at the Union. You will have the option to present your research paper to Council yourself.

Sign up!

For further information on the role, please email dsupres@dal.ca with the subject line “Commissioner Role Interest”.