UBC announces new committee to develop sex assault policy

A new committee has been set up to develop a sexualassault policy at the University of British Columbia following
complaints that the school's process for reporting attacks isbroken.

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Sara-Jane Finlay of UBC'sequity and inclusion office andKimberly Beck from the office of the university counsel will lead a12-member panel of students, staff and faculty members.

A first draft is expected to be ready for review and consultationin June, with a final policy to be submitted to the Board ofGovernors in October.

The university currently relies on a general discrimination andharassment policy to deal with allegations of sexual assault.

Current and former students complained last November that theschool had dragged its heels in responding to allegations against a PhD candidate, and a recent investigation concluded that a lack ofclarity around procedures was part of the problem.

UBC vowed to create a stand-alone policy in response, and isalso working on a campus-wide prevention plan to reduce sexual assault.