Category: 2023

To purchase any of these texts:

Dr. Aliyah Dosani – Community Health Nursing: A Canadian Perspective (forthcoming 2024 with Pearson Canada

Dr. Natalie Meisner – It Begins in Salt with Frontenac

Dr. Jacqueline Musabende – Bringing positive change

Dr. Milena Radzikowska – Prototyping Across the Disciplines (2021) with Intellect

Dr. D. Scharie Tavcer – Sexual Violence Policies and Sexual Consent Education at Canadian PSIs(2023) with Routledge – Women and the Criminal Justice System: A Canadian Perspective 3rd edition (2023) with Emond – Canadian Criminal Law and the Criminal Code (2023) with Oxford University Press

Dr. Michelle Yeo – SoTL Research Methodologies: A Guide to Conceptualizing and Conducting the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (2023) with Routledge

The 3rd edition is published by Emond and is the only text that addresses the criminal justice issues that surround criminalized women, victimized women, and women workers. Women and the Criminal Justice System: A Canadian Perspective is national in scope and this resource features in-depth case-studies focused on important cases in Canadian criminal justice including a new chapter on Black and racialized women and the criminal justice system with contributions from BIPOC scholars across Canada. The 3rd edition has more pedagogy and classroom-friendly features, such as discussion topics and end-of-chapter questions, to encourage students to engage with the material.

D. Scharie Tavcer and Vicky Dobkins.

This book published by Routledge, is the culmination of three years of research into sexual violence policies and sexual consent education at post-secondary institutions across Canada. The prevalence of sexual violence has not changed in more than 30 years, and its reporting to police or school authorities has only waxed and waned over those years. In response, this book asks what can be done differently to reduce the number of victims and potential perpetrators?

In Canada and United States, approximately one in three women over the age of 15 has experienced sexual assault during her lifetime (Benoit et al., 2015; Cantalupo, 2011; Fisher et al., 2000; Holland & Cortina, 2017; Karjane et al., 2002; Krebs et al., 2007; Tjaden & Thoeness, 2000; United States Department of Justice, 2017). Despite, one in five women and one in 16 men being sexually assaulted during their stay at a post-secondary institution (PSI) (Fisher et al., 2000), more than 90% of sexual assault victims do not report the assault to school authorities (Krebs et al., 2007; Krebs et al., 2016). The lack of reporting by PSI students is consistent with general Canadian and American statistics that reveal that only 1 in 10 acts of sexual violence is reported to police officials (Brennan and Taylor-Butts, 2008; Department of Justice, 2017). And furthermore, those statistics have not changed in decades. As a result of these facts, I want to explore what can be done differently – what can PSIs do to reduce the numbers of victims and potential perpetrators too.

The first aspect was an environmental scan of over 120 PSIs across Canada to collate what consent-based education they offer and how it is delivered (in person, online, mandatory etc.). Next, I conducted face-to-face and telephone interviews with students at two PSIs (one in AB and the other in NB). In addition, I interviewed staff at these institutions (residence, security, sexual violence coordinators etc.). And I also held a focus group with sexual health educator experts from the Calgary community. Among other questions, I asked students to define consent and to identify what consent education exists at their university and who receives the education. And I asked them if consent education should be mandatory and if it should be mandatory for everyone on campus, not just students but for faculty, staff, and administrators. 

The Consent 101 online module is one of the outcomes from my three-year research project about sexual consent education at post-secondary institutions across Canada. 

To get the book.

To access the Consent 101 module, click this link to be redirected. FYI: There are a couple of portions in draft form. 

The research project was about sexual violence policies and sexual consent education at post-secondary institutions across Canada. Because the prevalence of sexual violence has not changed in more than 30 years, and its reporting to police or school authorities has only waxed and waned over those years. I queried what can be done differently to reduce the number of victims and potential perpetrators? To answer those questions I conducted an environmental scan of over 120 post-secondary institutions (PSIs) across Canada as well as a deeper analysis of seven that also included student and staff experiences and opinions. The three-year project captured over 160 student voices and over 20 sexual violence staff and subject experts. The project concluded with a proposed online sexual consent education module, including its strengths and limitations, as a point of discussion for PSIs to include into their sexual violence prevention education repertoire

Within Canadian criminal law there is reform including how the system approaches its colonial foundations. When teaching this material, I see how imperative it is that educators and scholars must also evolve in the ways in which we think about and teach criminal law. We need to include various learning modalities, pedagogies, and voices, especially if we want to continue to engage the students of today, but especially if we want to effect change. Oxford University Press published this textbook.

My vision is that this text is a medium for change – to support educators to change how they teach criminal law to criminal justice and criminology students. Today’s criminal justice system may have evolved over the century, but it still retains its colonial roots and paternalistic ideology. Therefore, I believe it is imperative that we teach how our laws (and the justice system) have impacted marginalized and criminalized people, and Indigenous peoples and people of colour.

This text is purposely crafted not for law school programs and courses. This text is intentionally directed to students within criminal justice and criminology programs at the undergraduate level in post-secondary colleges and universities across Canada. The text is written in a personal voice to make it reader-friendly. The text is an introduction to criminal law – not from the perspective of a lawyer – but written in a way to support educators and to inspire students to dive into the fascinating aspects of criminal law withand case law examples, ask questions, and role play being a judge. And most importantly, it includes truthful information about our colonial justice system, and poses queries towards reconciliation.

The text is laid out in four parts and follows a path where a person charged with a criminal offence, and players they would interact with, would walk through the justice system. Part 1 is Foundations with three chapters that lay the groundwork for students to understand the overall function of the law, a brief layout of the criminal justice system players, its elements including a brief history of our law’s colonial roots, a refresher on the Constitution Act and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, as well as how defendants proceed through the justice system, and pre-trial procedures. Part 2 is Liability and Causation that includes two chapters to parallel the two necessary elements for a conviction to any offence: actus reus and mens rea. Each chapter includes its relevant parts – the four components of actus reus and the five components of mens rea, as well as the difference between factual and legal guilt. And both chapters provide the prosecution’s and defendant’s perspectives. Part 3 is Criminal Offences with chapters about specific offences and how the above principles are interpreted and how the above processes work. Although our Criminal Code is filled with thousands of offences, those included in this text are limited – it simply cannot include everything. Furthermore, these offences are chosen with intention because they are conventional crimes – they are most often pursued by the justice system and secondly, there are many recent cases and legislative advancements that will help us illustrate the function of the law to draw in the student. Part 4 is Trials and Sentencing which includes two chapters that take us into the courtroom exploring the defences permitted by law, the burden of proof aspects, how judges determine a disposition, and the possible punishments available in the Criminal Code. I hope you will enjoy reading and using the textbook in your classes.