When MPPs head back to Queen’s Park in the fall, they’ll have a new bill to consider from London West New Democrat Peggy Sattler.
During Thursday’s final session before the summer break, Sattler introduced a private member’s bill that — if passed — would require sexual violence and harassment prevention training to be included in Smart Serve.
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“They announced funding to create training back in September of 2016, but that training will be optional for bartenders and servers who work in licensed establishments,” said Sattler.
“We know from the work that the centre for research and education on violence against women, for example, when training is voluntary, it tends not to be taken up.”
Smart Serve teaches servers, bar owners and bartenders how to recognize when someone has had too much to drink, cut them off and how to arrange to get them home safely.
Sattler says adding a mandatory sexual violence prevention component to Smart Serve is a natural extension of the training.
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“There is some uncertainty about how frequent this is because the vast majority of sexual assaults aren’t reported at all,” said Sattler.
“But some experts believe that at least half of all sexual assaults involve alcohol.”
Sattler’s bill will return for a second reading sometime this fall.
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