Universities face increasing pressure to address campus sexual assault

University of British Columbiastudents got an extra jolt along with their caffeine fixeswhen they returned to campus last week.

The school's student union, the Alma Mater Society (AMS), has launched a campaign to raise awareness of campus sexual assault, wrapping coffee cups in sleeves that draw attention to UBC's track record for disciplining offenders.

The coffee sleeves makea stark comparison,showing that while 257 students were suspended over a 10-year period for plagiarism or other academiccheating, none were suspended for sexual assault during that same time. Theyalso encourage students to weigh in whilethe universityseeksfeedback on itsnew sexual assault policy.

"Sexual assault has been an issuealmost as long as campuses have been around," says AvaNasiri, president of AMS. Whileprogress has been made, more needs to be done to make victims comfortable coming forward, and to send a message to perpetrators at campuses everywherethat sexual violence has serious consequences, she says.

The need for more progress is a big topic on campuses across the country this year as many schools try to improve their policies for protecting students.

• Brock Turner released after 3 months in jail for Stanford sex assault
• Stanford University defends how it handled sex assault case

Stanford under the microscope

But perhaps no school anywhere is under more scrutiny than California'sStanford University.

FormerstudentBrockTurner convicted of sexually assaulting an unconscious woman near a fraternity partywasreleased fromjail on Sept. 2,completing half of a six-monthsentence that sparked international outrage and an online petition to remove the judge who presided overhiscase. JudgeAaronPerskyhas since asked to hear only civil cases.

Brock Turner released from San Jose jail

8 years ago

Duration 0:20

Man convicted in Stanford sexual assault dodges media questions

The prestigious school issuednew limitson hard alcohollast month,a move widelycriticized for putting the onus on women to drink less, rather than on men not to commit sexual assaults.

Stanford saidthe new restrictions are"a harm-reduction strategy" aimed atcurbing the medically risky rapid consumption of hard liquor.But the student body quickly connected the new policy with the Turner case, given that during the trial Turner saidhe was inexperienced withalcohol before beginning college.

Ralph Castro, director of Stanford'sOffice of Alcohol Policy and Education (OAPE),told campus newspaper The Stanford Daily that the new policy was not a result of a recent focus on sexual assault, but rather previous initiatives that had been underway since 2011.

'Alcohol is not consent'

Shelby Travers, a second-year student in media communications at Humber College, was watching the Brock Turner case unfold while coping with the immediate aftermath of being sexually assaulted on campus the day before classes ended last academic year.

She describes her assailant as"someone who at the time I thought was my friend and who just abused that sense of comfort and pushed boundaries, and,frankly, at the end of the day didn't respect me or what 'no' means."

Travers, who opted not to report what happened to police,says her case was handled well and efficiently by the college'sdepartment of student conduct,which has bannedthe perpetrator from campus until 2018. Still, she says she'd like to see studentgovernments work with their colleges and universities to ensuresafety at school events.

When I was giving my statement I was asked, "Had you had anything to drink?"and I just don't see why it's relevant. It's not.- Shelby Travers, sexual assault victim

"That's where a lot of these incidents happen, at the school bar, at these events where people are mistaking being under the influence with consent,"Travers says."Alcohol is not consent. That's where the whole victim blaming or shaming comes in 'Oh, you had a drink,' or 'You were wearing a short skirt' none of that means anything. When I was giving my statement I was asked, 'Had you had anything to drink?' and I just don't see why it's relevant. It's not."

New policy at U of T

The University of Toronto released a new draft policy on sexual assault last Wednesday.

ProvostCheryl Regehr said the policy is the result of consultations and committee work that have been ongoing since November 2014.

But the timing of the policy announcementwas intentional, she says.

"We wanted to have the draft policy ready for when the students came back to school so that all students would have an opportunity to provide input."

Provincial lawalsorequires all Ontariouniversities and colleges to have sexual violence policiesin place by January 2017, a change that came about as a result of the government's "It's Never OK" action plan on sexual violence.

Front and centre in the U of Tpolicy is the creation of new "sexual violence prevention and support centres" on all three campuses.

The policy also makes a distinction betweendisclosing an assault and making a formal report. Victims won't be required to file a formalreport withcampus authorities orpolicein order to access support as well as academic, employment and other accommodations, Regehr said.

The proposed changes also protect victims from having to comefacetofacewith their alleged perpetrators in meetingsunless they agree to do so.

Preventing the problem

Perhaps the most critical campus reforms, though, are those geared topreventing sexual violence in the first place.

To that end,Bishop's University inLennoxville, Que., just rolled outnew mandatory sexual-assault trainingfor all first-year students during orientation. The university says it's also planning to offer the training to students in second, third and fourth years, as well as to faculty and staff.

Regehr says U of T has long had education programs in place,starting during orientation.But under itsnew policy, a panel ofeducation experts will consult with the campus communities about whether these are workingand also outline areas for improvement.

UBC'sNasiri says she'd like to seeeducation around consent and healthy sexual relationships start atthe elementary or high school leveland hopes not to see a repeat of what happened at Stanford.

"The way that that case was handled is something that we take major issue with," she said."No student body and no institution should allow for this kind of situation to arise again. We'redoing our best to advocate for as much prevention as possible and to set a new standard for universities nationwide."

• UBC student society using coffee cups to raise awareness of sexual assaults on campus