Student Women's Committee (SWC)

Name: Student Women's Committee (SWC)

Previous/other names: N/A

Prominent date(s) of activity: 1984 - 1992.

History: The Student Women's Committee was founded in 1984 in response the Task Force Report to the President on the Status of Women at UNB.

Activities: The SWC raised awareness about women's issues on campus, provided support and legal aid to women suffering from gender related harassment, and provided an environment where women could socialize and discuss ways of improving gender relations at UNB.

In September 1991, the Student Women's Committee staged a date rape awareness campaign at UNB in conjunction with the Fredericton Rape Crisis Center and the UNB Frosh Orientation Committee, with funding from the UNB Student Council. The campaign included face-to-face awareness sessions with the frosh, two evening sessions open to all students and the public (one for men and one for women), and information pamphlets included in the frosh kits.

Note(s): In November of 1988 the SWC requested a meeting with the Editor-in-Chief of the Brunswickan, wherein they insisted that the paper refrain from publishing any material of a racist, sexist, homophobic, or classist nature. The paper was given a two-week grace period for materials already en route to the printer and offered access to a consultant from the SWC to help them discern in the future which materials were suitable for public media. The parties came to an agreement, and the Editor-in-Chief pulled several questionable articles from the upcoming publication.

Source(s):

• UA Case 173.
• The Brunswickan, vol. 126, Frosh Issue, September 1991, p. 13.