Abuse and sexual harassment

Abusive relationships and sexual harassment are serious issues that threaten personal safety. Signs of an unhealthy relationship include:

• your partner does not let you control your own life and feel good about yourself
• you feel constantly confused about what's going on in the relationship
• you make extra efforts to keep your partner from acting unkindly towards you

There are resources both at Queen's and in Kingston to help you identify and cope with these issues, regardless of your race, ancestry, place of origin, colour, ethnic origin, citizenship, creed, sex, gender identification, sexual orientation, age, marital status, family status and disability. There is also a guide specifically for immigrant, visitor and refugee women in abusive relationships.

Queen's services

• Campus Security:  613-533-6111 for on-campus emergencies.
• Queen's Health, Counselling and Disability Services:  613-533-2506 to book an appointment with a doctor or counsellor. 
  For immediate help, an Urgent Care Clinic and an Intake Counsellor are available.
• Queen’s Human Rights Office:  613-533-6886 to talk to an advisor about sexual harassment.

Community links

• Sexual Assault Centre Kingston: 24-hour crisis line at 613-544-6424 or toll-free 877-544-6424. 
• Sexual Assault/Domestic Violence (SA/DV) Program: Victims can visit the Kingston General Hospital Emergency Department and ask to speak to the SADV nurse.
• Interval House Women's Shelter: A safe shelter for abused women and their children. Call the 24-hour crisis line at 613-546-1777 or 1-800-267-9445 (toll free).
• Dawn House Women's Shelter:  For homeless women and their children who are seeking housing in Kingston - 613-545-1379.
• Kingston Youth Shelter: Emergency overnight shelter, counselling, and food for youth 16-24 - 613-544-3400.
• Ryandale Shelter for the Homeless: Emergency overnight shelter for men and women and their families - 613-548-8466. 

Queen's fact sheets

Resources from the Queen's Human Rights Office and Health, Counselling and Disability Services

• Healthy Relationships:
  • About Abuse in Relationships
  • Signs of a Healthy Relationship
  • Dating 101
  • Are You in a Healthy Relationship?(geared towards women)
  • Are You in a Healthy Relationship? (geared towards LGBT individuals)
  • Guide for Immigrant, Visitor and Refugee Women in Abusive Relationships
• Stalking: What You Should Know
• Sexual Harassment:
  • General Information
  • Sexual Harassment Training
    Basic knowledge and skills required to prevent and respond to incidents of sexual harassment in academia.
• Guide for Women Survivors of Assault or Harassment

External resources

• Do you know a woman who is being abused? (PDF 390KB). December 2007 publication of Community Legal Education Ontario (CLEO)
• Immigrant Women and Domestic Violence (PDF 248KB). January 2009 publication of CLEO
• Sexual Assault and Women with Disabilities. From the Disabled Women's Network Ontario 2003