“PEARS” in The PEARS Project stands for Prevention, Empowerment, Advocacy, Response, for Survivors.

The PEARS Project is a grassroots, trauma-informed coalition that provides support and resources to survivors of sexual violence across the University of Toronto; it is founded and led by survivors through survivor-centred principles such as autonomy, consent, equity, mutual aid, support, and care. PEARS recognizes survivors as the leaders whose voices need to be heard to implement policy change.

The tri-campus initiative consists of 10 teams of peer supporters. By formalizing a community and resource network that is by and for survivors, we can better support one another and increase access to legal, mental health, and capacity-building supports. Furthermore, by integrating PEARS branches into pre-existing communities, PEARS will be better able to create mutual relationships with broader student communities and help promote the work of other divisional stakeholders.