Shaheen Shariff, Ph.D. is James McGill Professor and Project Director of iMPACTS, which focuses on addressing sexual violence in Canada and internationally
Led by Professor Shaheen Shariff, Ph.D., iMPACTS is a multi-year, multi-million dollar Partnership Grant funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC). The overarching goal of iMPACTS is to unearth, dismantle, and prevent sexual violence within universities and, ultimately, in society, through evidence- based research that informs sustainable curriculum and policy change.
Professor Shariff is James McGill Professor in the Department of Integrated Studies in Education at the Faculty of Education at McGill University, and she is the Project Director of this SSHRC Partnership Grant. Professor Shariff grounds her work in the intersection of law and education, focusing on human rights and constitutional issues, diversity, legal pluralism, and civil society.
The iMPACTS of sexual violence in Canada
Unlike other efforts that occur in isolation, iMPACTS is the first of its kind to address, dismantle, and prevent sexual violence by means of a systemic partnered solution in the fields of education, law, policy, arts, popular culture, news, and social media. Professor Shariff brought our multi-disciplinary partners together to address an issue that remains a priority for public policy, namely, sexual violence in universities.
Together, we consider how sexual violence is tacitly perpetuated and how universities can work with arts and media sectors on informed and sustainable responses that place student voice, agency, and education at the heart of policy and curricular initiatives.
Our iMPACTS team is creating important spaces, resources, and opportunities for informed and multi-disciplinary dialogues that acknowledge and address the intersectional impacts of sexual and gender-based violence, both within universities and broader society.
Integral to our project is student engagement and empowerment.
Mentorship of students is overseen and undertaken within three domains, supervised and led by established academics in Canada and internationally. The three domains of iMPACTS are: 1) education, law, and policy; 2) arts, activism, and popular culture; and 3) news and social media.
Education, law, and policy
The education, law, and policy domain of iMPACTS examines sexual violence at universities through several lenses – educational, administrative, and legal – so institutions of higher education are equipped with an improved understanding of their legal obligations, roles, and responsibilities. Specifically, three are overarching objectives:
- To reclaim the role of universities in educating their own communities and greater society on the value of sustainable models to prevent and reduce sexual violence.
- To bring students and multi-sector partners together to initiate evidence-based and creative ways of informing administrative and curriculum policies on sexual violence.
- To expand knowledge and legal definitions of what constitutes on-campus sexual violence, given interactions that take place off-campus and online.
This domain of iMPACTS has generated several projects from our university partners across Canada and our McGill student team.
Activism in arts and popular culture
This domain of iMPACTS explores a range of activist and artistic interventions and the role of the entertainment industry and popular culture to uncover the roots and effects of sexual violence at universities.
Specifically, this project has two overarching objectives:
- To study the history and ongoing work of student activism and art interventions that promote sexual violence prevention, education, and support and encourage university social and policy changes.
- To investigate the role of popular culture in perpetuating, condoning, and dismissing sexual-based violence and gender-based violence at universities and in society.
News and social media
The news and social media domain of iMPACTS analyzes how sexual and gender-based violence is portrayed across media platforms and how survivors, students, and the general public engage with this content.
Specifically, this project has two overarching objectives:
- To empower and advocate for survivors by drawing attention to offensive and violent sexual content on news and digital platforms.
- To raise awareness and responsible media reporting of incidents that involve sexual and gender-based violence.
Recommendations and Resources
With our multi-disciplinary approach, iMPACTS investigates the many ways in which sexual violence is embedded in universities and society, and we offer evidence-based suggestions to help administrators, policymakers, educators, activists, artists, news and media organizations, and many others address sexual violence in both online and offline contexts.
Valuable resources are shared regularly on our website and social media as we work with multi-sector partners, advocacy NGOs, and multi-disciplinary academics from around the world. We look forward to continuing this work to prevent and mitigate sexual violence in Canada and internationally.
