Posted on June 14: Funding supports women’s safety on campus

New cameras will be installed on campus, and educational programs on safety and security will be instituted, thanks to the injection of a $50,000 Women's Safety Grant from the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities.

Each year, the ministry provides funding to universities to implement findings from safety audits, educate and inform workers and students about safety and security issues and support programs that will address safety and security needs of women workers and students.

McMaster's Advisory Committee on Security Services (comprised of faculty, staff, students and security services) reviewed 20 proposals for funding. This year the funding will support three educational programs and the installation of new cameras at various locations around campus and at the Downtown Centre.

Funding will support educational programs within Human Rights & Equity Services, which received $9,500. Security Crime Prevention received $2,300 to initiate a “Safety Key Tag” program. The key tags, which will be distributed to students, will have a small red beam LED flashlight, compass and a shrill tone whistle. The Anti-Violence Network received $6,400 for a Safety and Sexual Harassment Awareness Project (SSHAP), which is intended to increase awareness of safety and sexual harassment issues on campus.

The Student Walk Home Attendant Team received $2,000 to provide volunteers with taxi slips, so they do not have to walk home alone at their end of their 1 a.m. shift. Funding will also help pay for bikes for volunteers and advertising.

The funding also will pay for the installation of several new cameras, around the Downtown Centre, Mills Library, Ivor Wynne Centre Smith Gym, Edwards Hall, Gilmour Hall and the Arts Quad.