The Waiting Game

A year and a half after the Toronto Star revealed a lack of sexual assault protocols at universities across Canada, the status of those policies hang in limbo

Image by: Vincent Lin

On Canadian campuses, the clock has been ticking on sexual assault responses for a year and a half and counting. 

In November 2014, a Toronto Star investigation revealed that only nine out of 102 Canadian universities and colleges had sexual assault or sexual violence policies in place. The Star called several major universities out by name for lacking a policy: Queen’s, University of British Columbia, University of Toronto, York, McGill and Ryerson University.  

In the aftermath of the feature story, university administrations promised immediate action. Queen’s Principal Daniel Woolf told The Journal at the time that a policy would be pursued on an “aggressive timetable” to rectify the issue. 

It’s been 15 months since that feature was released. 

Four out of six of the named “major” schools — including Queen’s — remain in limbo without a completed official sexual violence policy. 

Ryerson and York University have released documents, although a York sexual assault survivor has claimed that the new policy didn’t help to protect her after she was attacked. 

The Journal has investigated the status of promised policies at each of the major six universities named in the Star’s feature — and found that most universities are still waiting on answers.

For the full story, visit QJLongform.com

Tags

McGill, Queen's, Ryerson, Sexual Assault, sexual assault policy, U of T, UBC, York

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