Beyond international students as “exports” : Prioritizing care, legal competency, and student well-being in the wake of sexual violence

• In Event: International students and family experiences

Proposal

Sarah Lewington
Shannon Hutcheson
McGill University
Department of Integrated Studies in Education

With Canada welcoming more than 350,000 international students and the United States hosting 1.1 million international students, North America represents one of the greatest proportions of international students globally. Given the prevalence of students studying internationally, it is clear to see how international education has become an increasingly lucrative source of financial support for many higher education institutions in North America and beyond. As public funding for these institutions becomes more scarce, international students, who often pay higher tuition rates when compared to their domestic student peers, are commonly perceived as “exports” and “cash cows” in a global economy that often values their extra tuition dollars over their well-being. As higher education institutions look to international students to compensate for decreasing public funding, international education stakeholders must both question and challenge how progress in this field is measured. In particular, universities must ensure that students are not viewed solely as sources of income, but recognized as vital pillars of the collective learning community. Effectively, the success of international education cannot only be evaluated in terms of international student numbers and finances generated, but rather the security and well-being of international students. This paper contends that the sustainability and continuation of international education hinges on international students’ experience within their host country and how the university fosters (or not) an environment in which they can thrive.

As increasing numbers of international students pursue studies outside of their “home” countries, further inquiry is needed to understand and address the unique experiences of international students. Specifically, as sexual violence garners increasing media attention, more scholarship is needed to understand sexual violence and how it impacts marginalized groups . Accordingly, our co-written article, Navigating the Labyrinth: Policy Barriers to International Students’ Reporting of Sexual Assault in Canada and the United States, will serve as a point of departure for our analysis of international student experiences within Canadian and American justice systems. Although studying in a foreign country provides a variety of opportunities, there may be unique challenges that accompany leaving one’s “home country” (e.g. loss of social network, language fluency, and unfamiliarity with local laws). Specifically, we are interested in how the above-mentioned challenges impact international students’ ability to navigate their host country’s justice system. This line of inquiry is especially relevant and timely given the increased discussion surrounding the pervasiveness of sexual violence and rape culture on campuses in the Canadian and American context. Although studies have concluded that international students may be particularly vulnerable to sexual violence, literature in this field is still lacking. In an effort to provide a comprehensive examination of international students’ experience of sexual violence and its implications for higher education, we move beyond anecdotal evidence, rooting our analysis in case law. In order to identify and tease out existing barriers, our analysis is grounded in a review of multiple case studies citing sexual assault experienced by international students.

Through the course of our research, we have identified six overarching themes that reflect international students experiences of sexual violence as they converge with the Canadian and American justice system. Emergent themes include: (a) the monetization of international education: e. g. the impact of seeing international students in terms of tuition dollars rather than individuals, (b) visa and immigration barriers: e. g. fear of losing one’s legal status and repatriation, (c) power dynamics: e. g. power differentials between the international student, teachers, and campus service providers, (d) knowledge of the host country justice system: e. g. understanding legal procedures and accessing resources, (e) educational intervention: e. g. education around sexual violence and access to information, and (f) social supports/isolation: e. g. coping with sexual violence without one’s social support network. Grounded in the monetization of higher education, our paper examines how universities’ perception of international students functions to determine the services they receive and the quality of that care. In our analysis of the legal text, we explore how international students’ legal status in Canada and the United States is conditional-as such, fear of losing one’s legal status functions as a mediating factor for disclosure. As evidenced in the relationships between international students, instructors, and on-campus service providers, power dynamics play a key role in the international student experience with reporting and disclosing incidents of sexual violence. Contextualized within the Canadian Human Rights Act, the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and Title IX, we will examine international student familiarity with their host country’s legal processes as well as university policy. Additionally, we will investigate how education concerning sexual violence impacts international students’ understanding of the reporting process and whether or not they feel empowered to seek support services. Finally, we will conclude our analysis with an inquiry into how isolation can act as a substantive barrier to international students reporting an experience of sexual violence.

In analyzing the intersections of sexual violence and international student experience, our work aims to benefit international students, university stakeholders, and service providers through increasing the field’s understanding of the existing barriers to reporting to sexual violence and navigating the legal system.

Authors

• Sarah Lewington, McGill University

• Shannon Elizabeth Hutcheson, McGill University