Grant: Operating Grant: College and Community Innovation Social Innovation Fund

<html> <head> </head> <body> This community-based research project is a partnership with the South Asian Legal Clinic of British Columbia (SALCBC) and Poetic Justice (PJ) and collaborators such as SHER Vancouver and other healthcare professionals who work with South Asian women and LGBTQ+ students in the lower mainland of Vancouver, BC who have experienced sexual violence. The collaboration aims to study the experiences of sexual violence amongst South Asian women and LGBTQ+ students and how cultural, systemic and informational barriers shape their experiences of accessing and utilizing reproductive and sexual health services. The research questions are 1) What are the experiences of sexual violence among South Asian women and LGBTQ+ students residing in the lower mainland, BC? and 2) How do cultural, systemic and informational barriers shape the experiences of South Asian women and LGBTQ+ students in accessing and utilizing reproductive and sexual health services? Focus groups will be used in the first phase of the project as they will allow an exploratory approach that will provide insight into the types of question to be asked in the one-on-one semistructured interviews. The community partners and collaborators already work closely with the South Asian communities in the lower mainland, and they will act as an advisory committee, which will also include South Asian women and LGBTQ+ students. The advisory community and research team members will also be instrumental in all aspects of the research. Key outcomes of this study are multi-media resources and training of more comprehensive sex education programs to the wider institutions such as education, law enforcement and health to support their services for South Asian women and LGBTQ+ students. </body> </html>