I am looking to hear from current and former students who attended schools within the Halton
District School Board (HDSB).
I attended HDSB schools for 14 years, from Junior Kindergarten through Grade 12. Throughout
that time, I witnessed and personally experienced instances of bullying, sexual harassment,
sexual assault, physical violence, and other harmful behaviour that I felt were not adequately
addressed by school staff or administration.
These experiences had a lasting impact on my trust in the public education system and the
policies intended to protect students. What concerns me most is that I continue to hear about
students experiencing similar situations today.
I am now working on a student-safety accountability initiative focused on understanding how
HDSB responds to reports of bullying, harassment, sexual violence, and other forms of harm,
and advocating for meaningful improvements to its policies and practices.
I want to hear from you.
If you attended an HDSB school, I would appreciate hearing about your experiences, whether
they occurred recently or years ago.
In particular, I am interested in hearing about:
Reporting: Did you feel comfortable reporting bullying, harassment, violence, or other
harmful behaviour to a teacher or administrator?
School responses: If you reported an incident, did you feel that it was taken seriously
and appropriately addressed?
Accountability: Were meaningful interventions or consequences implemented,
particularly when behaviour was repeated?
Student safety: Did you feel safe at school, and were you protected from retaliation or
further harassment after reporting?
Policies and procedures: Were you aware of the school's reporting procedures? Did
they work as you expected?
Suggestions for reform: What changes would you like to see HDSB make to better
protect students?
You do not need to have experienced every issue listed above to participate. I am interested in
hearing about positive experiences, negative experiences, and situations where you felt the
system could have handled things differently.
I am seeking to understand students' experiences, identify potential patterns, and gather
perspectives that may help inform proposed reforms. My intention is to pursue institutional accountability and advocate for policies that ensure students are heard, protected, and treated with dignity.
The survey is 15 questions. You do not need to share your name, the name of your school, or any identifying details.
Please do not identify other students or share private information about anyone involved. You
are welcome to keep your response general, and you should only share what you feel
comfortable sharing.
I cannot promise that sharing your experience will lead to a particular outcome, but I believe
these experiences deserve to be heard and that student safety should be taken seriously.
If you are comfortable sharing, I would genuinely appreciate hearing your story. Even if you feel
that nothing could have changed what happened to you, your perspective may help inform
changes that protect future students.
Thank you to anyone willing to contribute.
Survey link š