We use cookies on this site to enhance your experience.
By selecting “Accept” and continuing to use this website, you consent to the use of cookies.
The name is an acronym for Reporting Incidents to Support Equity. The concept of equity recognizes that different barriers to inclusion exist for different people and aims for all members of the community to have access to the resources and opportunities that are necessary for them to attain just outcomes. This name was selected during focus group discussions.
The RISE form was developed by the Office of the Associate Vice President, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion to fulfil Strategic Plan for EDI recommendation 1.1, which is the development of a bias incident repository that helps Laurier gauge our campus climate by recording perceptions of bias in campus experience. The form also addresses government directives issued by the Ministry of Training, Colleges, and Universities under the Strengthening Accountability and Student Supports Act, 2024.
This form is different from existing processes for responding to bias and discrimination because submissions gathered through the form are not formal complaints, and respondents have the option to disclose concerns anonymously or confidentially. The Office of Human Rights and Conflict Management is the unit that oversees policy and formal complaint processes.
According to the Ontario Human Rights Commission, identities considered Protected Grounds include age, ancestry, colour, race, citizenship, ethnic origin, place of origin, creed, disability, family status, marital status (including single status), gender identity, gender expression, record of offences (in employment only), sex (including pregnancy and breastfeeding) and sexual orientation.
Direct discrimination describes an act, behaviour or practice of treating a person unequally on the basis of a Protected Ground.
Systemic discrimination, referred to as “constructive discrimination” in the Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC), is discrimination inherent in, or the result of, the organization’s informal or formal policies, practices or procedures. Systemic Discrimination occurs intentionally or unintentionally when a requirement, qualification, or factor results in the exclusion, restriction or preference of a group identified by a Protected Ground.
Racial discrimination may be direct or systemic in nature. Racial discrimination is any distinction, conduct or action, whether intentional or not, based on a person’s race, which has the effect of imposing burdens not imposed upon others, or withholding or limiting access to benefits available to other members of society. When racist ideology is enacted racial discrimination occurs. Racial discrimination can include racial slurs and jokes.
As defined by the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA), workplace harassment means engaging in a course of vexatious comment or conduct against a worker in the workplace that is known or ought reasonably to be known to be unwelcome, or workplace sexual harassment.
As defined by the OHSA, workplace sexual harassment is engaging in a course of vexatious comment or conduct against a worker in a workplace because of sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression, where the course of comment or conduct is known or ought reasonably known to be unwelcome, or making a sexual solicitation or advance where the person making the solicitation or advance is in a position to confer, grant, or deny a benefit or advancement to the worker and the person knows or ought reasonably to know that the solicitation or advance is unwelcome.
As defined by the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities Act, workplace sexual misconduct is in relation to a Student of the University: physical sexual relations with the student; touching of a sexual nature of the student; or behaviour or remarks of a sexual nature toward a student by an employee of the University where,
(i) The act constitutes an offence under the Criminal Code (Canada),
(ii) The act infringes the right of the student under clause 7 (3) (a) of the Human Rights Code to be free from a sexual solicitation or advance, or
(iii) Contravenes this policy or any other policy, rule or other requirement of the University respecting sexual relations between employees and students, or any conduct by an employee of the University that infringes the right of the student under clause 7 (3) (b) of the Human Rights Code to be free from a reprisal or threat of reprisal for the rejection of a sexual solicitation or advance.
Where harassing or discriminatory behaviours are severe and/or pervasive and cause unreasonable interference with a person’s study or work environment, a poisoned environment may be created. The harassing behaviours need not be linked to the Protected Grounds. A poisoned work or learning environment is characterized as toxic or poisoned because it is intimidating, hostile and/or offensive. A poisoned environment can arise from even a single incident. It may be created by the comments or actions of any person, regardless of his or her status. The comments or conduct do not have to be directed at a particular individual. A person need not be the target of the behaviours to feel the effects of certain harassing and/or discriminatory behaviours at their place of work or study.
a. Engaging in conduct that is, or is reasonably seen to be, humiliating or demeaning to another person or coercing, enticing, or inciting a person to commit an act that is, or is reasonably seen to be, humiliating or demeaning to that person or to others for the purpose of initiation, admission into, affiliation with, or as a condition for continued membership in a group or organization. The express or implied consent of the harmed party will not be a defence. Apathy or acquiescence in the presence of such conduct are not neutral acts and are considered violations; and
b. Forcing through any means or requiring violation of municipal, provincial, federal laws, and/or violation of university policies as a condition of membership in a group.
Gendered violence is any violence, physical or psychological, that is committed, threatened or attempted against an individual without the individual’s consent by targeting a marginalized gender, gender identity, or gender expression.
Sexual violence means any sexual act or act targeting a person’s sexuality, gender identity or gender expression, whether the act is physical or psychological in nature, that is committed, threatened or attempted against a person without the person’s consent, and includes sexual assault, sexual harassment, stalking, indecent exposure, voyeurism and sexual exploitation.
Intimate partner violence or IPV occurs between two or more people involved in an intimate relationship. It is a non-gendered reference, acknowledging the interchangeable roles of aggressor and victim. IPV is inclusive of all forms of relationships, e.g. hetero/same sex, married/common law/dating.
Anonymous Disclosure is a disclosure of information where the identity of the respondent is completely unknown and cannot be determined by the receiving party. The respondent provides no personal information, and the content of the disclosure is the only available data. Confidential disclosure is where the identity of the respondent is known to the receiving party but is kept private and protected. The respondent’s personal information is recorded but safeguarded, allowing for follow-up communication while maintaining discretion.
Any information provided in this form will be kept strictly confidential to staff in the Office of the AVP EDI, the Office of Human Rights and Conflict Management, and the Centre for Student Equity, Diversity and Inclusion. Information that could identify individuals will never be publicly released, in accordance with university Policy 10.1.
This means we won't share any personal details with family, professors, employers, or in any reports. All responses will remain confidential, except if there's a risk of imminent harm to the self or others; we must report this to appropriate municipal or provincial services if required by law or university policy (as per university Policy 12.4 and Policy 7.18).
Other university policies which address the limits of confidentiality include Policy 6.1. Prevention of Harassment, Discrimination, and Sexual Misconduct.
No. The form is primarily a data gathering tool used to identify patterns and trends of bias across Laurier’s campuses and to guide the university in creating an inclusive campus culture that is also committed to freedom of expression and academic freedom. It is not a formal reporting mechanism. Data from the form may help the university understand the impact of academic freedom on community members and may inform the need for education and/or supports, but the tool itself does not prevent or inhibit academic freedom.
See Laurier’s Statement on Freedom of Expression for more information.
No. The submissions to the RISE form will only be used to understand trends and patterns of experiences in the Laurier community related to harm and oppression. A formal investigation or complaint process must be initiated through the Office of Human Rights and Conflict Management.
Access to the RISE form responses will be strictly limited to staff in the Office of the Associate Vice President, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (Academic) team, staff in the Office of the Office of Human Rights and Conflict Management and the Centre for Student Equity, Diversity and Inclusion. Staff reviewing submissions are trained in trauma-informed, anti-oppressive practice.
If respondents choose to be contacted, they will receive an email or phone call from staff in the Office of the Associate Vice President, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion.
All respondents can download a PDF containing a summary of their submission. This can be saved and used by respondents for their own records and usage, for example, to communicate the concern to another unit, thereby minimizing repetition of the disclosure.
The RISE Form adheres to Laurier’s Policy 10.1 Privacy Protection and Information Access. Maintaining the confidentiality of the disclosing party is paramount to the integrity of the Rise form. The limits of confidentiality, especially in the context of anonymous reporting processes, however, involve balancing the ethical duty to protect individuals' privacy with legal and ethical obligations that may require disclosure.
The university, for example, has a duty to report a response to an appropriate municipal or provincial service (as per university Policy 12.4 and Policy 7.18) if there is a risk of immediate harm to yourself or others, or if required by law or other university policy.
In these circumstances, the university has a duty to report even if your disclosure is made anonymously. The concept of imminent harm and resulting limits of confidentiality are reflected in various Laurier policies:
Submissions will provide university leadership with a sense of broader patterns and trends of bias-related experiences within the Laurier community. By identifying patterns or trends in the community, Laurier leadership will be better-positioned to make evidence-informed systemic changes that can directly impact people’s material conditions.
No. This form is not unique to Laurier. Many institutions offer a similar form that can accept anonymous or confidential disclosures of bias-related incidents. As of January 2025, the of Ministry of Training, Colleges, and Universities requires that publicly funded post-secondary institutions have a mechanism to accept anonymous disclosures, in line with the Strengthening Accountability and Student Supports Act, 2024.
Annual reports from the RISE form data will be shared under the “Anti-Racism/Anti-Hate Directive” section of the university’s Public Accountability page, beginning in January 2026. This annual report will be shared with the Board of Governors and with the Ministry of Colleges and Universities.
Aggregate summary reports on specific areas of the university, types of incidents, and patterns in incidents will also be shared with working groups and advisory councils involving or led by the Office of the AVP EDI. This includes the AVP EDI Advisory Council and the Religious Accommodations Working Group.