Reporting an incident of sexual violence to the Human Rights office

It is your choice whether or not to report an incident of sexual violence. Help and support are available to you regardless of what you decide.

The Human Rights office’s Gender-based Violence Specialist can provide more information and help you to decide what steps would be the most helpful for your situation. At no point will you be required or pressured to make a formal report. Students also have the right to seek independent legal advice before deciding whether, when and how to proceed, and at any time throughout the selected process.

What is a Report?

A report includes details of what happened, when, where and who was involved. If you would like the Univeristy to initate a resolution option listed below in response to concerns about sexual violence, you must submit a report. 

Resolution options 

• Students may request an alternative dispute-resolution option, including:

• Mediation or restorative justice.
• Apology from the respondent.
• Delivering an impact statement.
• Communicating to a respondent that the behaviour is unwelcome and must stop.
• Meeting with a university official to discuss ways in which future occurrences of the disclosed incident can be prevented.
• Training and education for individuals and groups.

• Students may also elect to pursue an investigation instead of an alternative dispute resolution option, or if an attempt to resolve the matter using an alternative dispute resolution option is not successful.

Assessment

Once a report is made and a resolution is sought under the Student Sexual Violence Policy, the Human Rights office will assess in a sensitive and tactful manner the nature of the sexual violence being reported. Through this assessment, the Human Rights office will determine:

• Whether the alleged incident is covered by the Policy; and if so,
• whether Immediate measures (e.g. assessing housing and safety needs, adjustments to class schedules, etc.) are necessary to protect the safety of the complainant or other students.

If the Human Rights office’s assessment determines that the alleged incident is covered by the Policy, the report will proceed and one of a number of resolution options may be pursued.

What to expect during an investigation?

• The Complainant, if any, is given a full and fair opportunity to raise allegations and provide relevant and material evidence in support of those allegations;
• The Respondent knows what the allegations are; receives enough information to provide a meaningful response; and is given a full and fair opportunity to provide relevant and material evidence responding to the allegations;
• The parties receive adequate notice of the nature of the proceedings and of the issue to be decided;
• The decision-maker is required to be impartial and free from bias;
• The decision maker is required to consider all of the relevant information and evidence before them, taking into consideration the circumstances of the particular matter including its complexity and the requirements of fairness and due process;
• The decision-making processes run in a timely fashion;
• The parties may have a support person or legal representation during dispute resolution meetings; and
• The parties are provided the reasons for the decision.

• Changes to class, academic or work schedules.
• Imposition of restrictions on communication and/or access to campus.
• Any additional measures provided for under the Student Conduct Policy, collective agreements, employment agreements, or human resources policies, depending on whether the respondent is a student, staff or faculty member.

Gathering Evidence

• Students will not be asked irrelevant questions about their sexual expression or past sexual history.
• We recognize that investigation interviews can be overwhelming and stressful; students have the right to be accompanied by a support person of their choice, or legal counsel.
• We also encourage students to obtain support from Student Mental Health Services during the course of any investigation.
• The Human Rights office will keep all information obtained during an investigation confidential, and will keep all relevant documents, including electronic documents, at a secure location.

Investigation Report

Based on all available evidence, including the respondent’s defence the Human Rights office will determine whether there has been a violation of the Policy, weighing the evidence on a balance of probabilities (an investigative standard that determines whether a violation of the policy has occurred based on whether “it was more likely than not” that the offence at issue was committed). The Human Rights office’s findings will be included in a final investigative report.

Sanctions 

If the Human Rights office determines that sexual violence has occurred, the matter is referred to the Provost’s Office for a determination on next steps. Potential sanctions that may be imposed as per the Policy include:

• Written warning
• Conduct contract
• Formal apology
• Community service
• Alternative forms of restitution
• Restrictions from specific campus activities or course enrolments
• Suspension or eviction from one or more university facilities
• Expulsion

Report an incident of sexual violence to the university.