Whisper Network: How McMaster is failing student survivors of sexual assault

McMaster University is failing survivors of sexual violence by silencing them, protecting perpetrators and conducting investigations in a way that can further traumatize complainants, say advocates and survivors.

One student survivor was so upset by the university's handling of her sexual harassment complaint that she later refused to report a sexual assault. It was just one of the many issues a months-long Spectator investigation revealed.

The criticism comes in the wake of McMaster's months-long review into potential systemic or cultural issues" in the Department of Psychology, Neuroscience and Behaviour (PNB), which is linked to the university's sexual violence, and discrimination and harassment policies. The university launched the review after police charged PNB associate professor Scott Watter with sexual assault and sexual assault causing bodily harm in June - the allegations are related to offences from 2017 and involve a female student. The university has since received more complaints involving other faculty members from the same department.

Seven individuals connected to the PNB department - four faculty members, including Watter, one staff member, one former staff member and one graduate student - have been reprimanded as the university probes a number of serious allegations of sexual harassment and sexual violence."

On Dec. 3, the university revealed the now-complete review uncovered systemic and cultural issues" in the department and a degree of complacency that has let inappropriate behaviours go unchecked."

The Spectator investigation revealed McMaster students and advocates say what's happening in PNB is just the tip of the iceberg" when it comes to a pervasive culture of sexual violence on campus, which one calls rape culture." And while they're glad to see the university taking complaints seriously, survivors say the university's handling of their own sexual violence complaints failed to get them justice and left them feeling silenced, their concerns dismissed.

Survivors say their whisper network" keeps others informed about McMaster's failings. They want a review of McMaster's sexual violence policy and an overhaul of how the school handles complaints.

The university's head of equity and inclusion says sexual violence is a societal problem" and acknowledges institutions are microcosms of that society." Still, the university has no immediate plans to launch a new review of its sexual violence policy. The policy was last updated in January 2020. Reviews typically occur every three years.

Other universities, including the University of New Brunswick (UNB) and Mount Allison University, are also facing a reckoning when it comes to their handling of sexual violence. Hundreds of students protested on campuses last month after a Mount Allison student went public with her story of sexual assault, saying the university uses fear tactics" to deter survivors from filing formal complaints.

McMaster students are now speaking out, too.

Steffi's experience

Steffi Arkilander, now a fourth-year McMaster student studying health sciences, says talking about the investigation is almost more difficult than talking about the actual assault.

Arkilander was assaulted by a friend and fellow McMaster student who was at one time her boyfriend. The assaults - sexual touching without her consent - occurred off-campus in August and November 2018.

After a 10-month investigation, the university found Arkilander's perpetrator had violated its sexual violence policy.

Throughout the 10 months, Arkilander felt cut off from her support network. She'd been told not to talk about the investigation - which was conducted by a lawyer hired by the university - with anyone who might be considered a witness. This included friends she'd confided in about the assault. Her grades suffered. She dropped a course. She dreaded opening emails that inevitably informed her of a yet another delay in the investigation. She felt constantly on edge.

Not being able to control what was happening was one of the biggest things that was hard for me," said Arkilander, now 21 and the opinions editor of McMaster's student newspaper, the Silhouette.

Previously, she'd been outspoken about the assault, becoming someone others reached out to to share their own experiences. But as the investigation dragged on, she worried about the legal ramifications of speaking out, worried she might be sued for defamation.

She felt silenced. And isolated.

She didn't want an investigation in the first place, aware of how time-consuming and in-depth the process could be. It was thrust upon her, she says, when the university was tipped off about concerns regarding the student in question and his friend. Arkilander said the university then contacted her in March 2018, months after the assaults occurred, saying they were conducting an investigation.

They said that my participation was voluntary but it wasn't really voluntary because ... if I didn't participate they wouldn't get my side of the story," Arkilander said. So obviously I wanted to participate."

She had to get a lawyer. The bill was partially covered by Mac and the rest written off by the lawyer. She didn't have a say in who would be appointed to investigate her case, and it ended up being a male lawyer. She says she would have felt more comfortable divulging details of the assault to a woman. She had to provide six months' worth of private Facebook messages to the investigator. She describes questions posed to her about the assault victim-blamey."

I remember being asked if I was drinking," she said.

Ultimately, the university determined her perpetrator had violated the school's sexual violence policy. But Arkilander never found out how or if he was punished - it's the university's policy to not disclose that information, for privacy reasons, it says. Arkilander did not report the assault to police.

I don't really see the point of having that policy if you don't know what measures they're taking to make sure that they've actually responded to the assault," she said.

She was told a no-contact order would be put in place. But she didn't ask for that.

Does she feel she got justice?

Not really."

McMaster's sexual violence policy and response to criticism

McMaster's sexual violence policy defines sexual violence as any sexual act or act targeting a person's sexuality, gender identity or gender expression, whether the act is physical or psychological in nature, that is committed, threatened or attempted against a person without the person's consent." Violence includes sexual assault, sexual harassment, stalking, indecent exposure, voyeurism and sexual exploitation.

Concerns about the policy and investigations - similar to those voiced by Arkilander - have been raised with the university's Equity and Inclusion Office by other survivors, says Arig al Shaibah, McMaster's associate vice-president of equity and inclusion. And Arkilander's specific issues - frustration regarding confidentiality requirements, drawn-out investigations and an inability to find out what punishment perpetrators face - al Shaibah called concerning."

But there are reasons the policy exists in its current form, she said.

Confidentiality requirements, for instance, are required in order to maintain the integrity of the investigative process," al Shaibah said in an interview.

Absolutely, individuals can be speaking to who their supports are and that's really important in terms of getting support," she said. We just are obligated to talk about the importance of ... the investigative process."

Still, the March 2019 letter that notified Arkilander of the investigation reads: Please refrain from discussing this matter with anyone who might be a potential witness to any facts or details relating to the subject matter of the investigation."

Al Shaibah agreed that even one month of investigation is a long time" for a survivor. But some investigations are complex and therefore take longer, she said. Seven months is the average length of an investigation, she said, though it is not uncommon for an investigation to take 10 months - as Arkilander's did.

New this year, she said, is a policy to review individual sexual violence investigations that stretch past the six-month mark.

In terms of the university not sharing with survivors the repercussions their perpetrators face, al Shaibah said this is due to privacy legislation.

What we're balancing there is the safety of the complainant as well as their need to know' with the privacy of the respondent," she said. The law says that they do have a right to privacy for the kinds of things that are being doled out in a disciplinary fashion."

Complainants are told about a sanction or a remedy" if it has a direct effect and is relevant to the complainant," she said. This could include informing a complainant of a no-contact order, a change in who supervises them or that a person is banned from entering a certain building.

As Arkilander's concerns about not having a say in who investigated her case, al Shaibah said McMaster's practice of selecting a potential investigator from an internal and external" roster is no different from other schools' practices. All McMaster investigators have expertise in understanding issues of sexual violence and have training in trauma-informed investigations, she said.

Victoria's experience

Victoria DePaulo was 19 and in her third year of biology when she signed up to be a volunteer student mentor with the McMaster Science Society. A mentor had helped her when she was in first year, struggling with depression and anxiety, and she wanted to give back.

The last thing she expected was to be sexually harassed by a mentee.

(He) unfortunately started sending me very, very sexually suggestive messages through Snapchat," said DePaulo, now 21. I was in an awkward position because I was their mentor, yes, but also we had established some sort of friendship as well."

The repeated messages referencing sexual violence made her feel both uncomfortable and unsafe, she said.

DePaulo raised the issue with the head of the McMaster Science Society, who then raised it with McMaster's sexual violence response co-ordinator, she said.

The result of that conversation was them promising me and assuring me that I wouldn't have to deal with him again through the McMaster Science Society in any capacity," she said. The term they used was blacklisted,' that he was blacklisted from the science society."

But a year later, DePaulo learned the student in question had been hired as a welcome week volunteer with the society, the same role she previously served in. She herself had reapplied for the position, but wasn't rehired.

It would put him in direct contact with incoming first-year students.

I reached out to the science society and I was like, Hey, what the heck is going on?'" she said.

From there, the university's Equity and Inclusion Office (EIO) got involved. A representative from the EIO laid out her options: she could file a formal complaint, which could lead to an rigorous months-long investigation, or she could file an informal complaint. She went the informal route. She and her perpetrator both signed a no-contact agreement, she said.

But after that, she started to feel frustrated and confused. She asked herself: Why wasn't he fired?

We signed this no-contact agreement - he knows what he did was wrong, everyone knows what he did was not OK, so why is he still given the opportunity to be part of this volunteer organization and to assist with first-years?" she asked. It was really, really frustrating for me because everyone could see that, but the system was kind of built and designed in a way that protected him."

When she tried to raise the issue again with the EIO, the office told her she was being discriminatory toward the student, she said. They then revoked the no-contact order, she said.

I was like, I guess what I did was wrong,'" she said of the message that revocation sent to her.

McMaster did not respond directly to questions about DePaulo's allegations.

By that point, she was so stressed out by the university's handling of her complaints that she deleted all emails relating to the case in an attempt to push it away."

That spring, DePaulo was sexually assaulted by another student at a party. She never reported it to the university. She didn't trust the EIO.

I was just scared because I didn't want to have to retell what happened over and over and over again, sit through more meetings, go back and forth with emails," DePaulo said. I was like, If I even bring this up it's not going to go well and I'm not going to receive any support or justice that I need.'"

What happens after a survivor complains - and could that change?

McMaster's sexual violence policy allows for complainants to file informal or formal complaints. The informal - or "voluntary resolution" - route can lead to outcomes such as mutually agreed upon no-contact orders, as in the case of DePaulo. Formal complaints can come with an investigation process, which can lead to sanctions if the respondent is found to have violated the policy - and sometimes even before, with interim measures.

Sanctions can include such punishments as a written reprimand, a no-contact order or being barred from campus. Student respondents can be suspended or expelled. Staff or faculty can be suspended or issued a dismissal or recommendation for removal." Sanctions are proportional to the severity of the response," the policy states.

Remedies" can include mandated counselling or training.

The most recent review of the sexual violence policy came in January. There were no wholesale changes," al Shaibah said, though the review cleared up some procedural issues.

The next review isn't scheduled for at least two years, but al Shaibah said one could come sooner if there emerged a groundswell of concerns about a particular aspect of the policy." Asked if the concerns raised by Arkilander and DePaulo warrant the university's commitment to a new review now, she said: Not at the moment."

Still, she added that she encourages her office to constantly" review cases.

We should continue to pay attention to how people feel about interacting with the policy and the folks in the EIO and the process," she said. We need to be doing that on an ongoing basis."

In the meantime, Arkilander said a campus whisper network" keeps survivors and would-be complainants informed about McMaster's poor handling of sexual violence complaints, she said.

Rape culture" on campus

Maddie Brockbank, a PhD student in McMaster's school of social work who studies post-secondary institutions' sexual violence policies, said the PNB investigation was just the tip of the iceberg" when it comes to exposing a culture permissive of sexual violence on campus.

And sexual violence, she makes clear, is not always overt.

Sexual violence happens a lot of the time in classes - that's not necessarily assault or rape, but it could be a really inappropriate joke, it can be a misogynistic comment," Brockbank said.

Rape culture," Brockbank says, is pervasive, not only at McMaster but at post-secondary institutions across Canada. She pointed to statistics on sexual violence for evidence of systemic issues of sexual violence on campus.

Statistics from McMaster's 2018-19 EIO annual report - its most recent - show the university recorded 101 disclosures of sexual violence in that academic year. Disclosures occur when someone informs someone at the university about an incident of sexual violence, though they don't necessarily take further action. The vast majority - 83 of the 101 disclosures - were relating to sexual assault.

Over the same period, there were 44 complaints - which are different from disclosures and involve a more formal complaint to the university - relating to either the sexual violence policy, discrimination and harassment policy, or both. The most cited ground for a complaint was sex, followed by personal harassment, then race. Not all complainants or respondents are students.

A 2019 provincewide survey called Student Voices on Sexual Violence conducted on behalf of the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities, found 63 per cent of 116,000 university student respondents reported experiencing some form of sexual harassment.

Of the McMaster students who responded:

• 64 per cent reported experiencing sexual harassment on campus;

• 61 per cent indicated that they had no awareness of sexual violence supports and services nor understanding of reporting procedures;

• 22 per cent reported a non-consensual sexual experience;

• 76 per cent indicated that they had witnessed a situation that had the potential to escalate into sexual violence.

Brockbank said while she welcomes the university's PNB review, any investigation into systemic issues of sexual violence should extend universitywide.

We can't say that it's something that is just a one-off. It's a systemic issue and it's embedded in the very fabric of the institution," Brockbank said.

Revelations from the climate review

The PNB review report, released by the university Thursday, uncovered systemic and cultural issues" within the department and a degree of complacency that has let inappropriate behaviours go unchecked."

But even those surveyed and interviewed for the review said any issues within the department were probably not unique" to it. They argued: the whole university should be investigated in this regard," according to the report.

More than 25 review participants reported hearing or witnessing behaviour" within the department that if true, could be characterized as sexual harassment."

The behaviour" included: male faculty making sexual advances or engaging in unwanted sexual attention towards female students; sexually inappropriate comments by faculty; inappropriate sexual behaviour between students; and sexual relationships between faculty and students."

Some said they tried to raise concerns but felt continually dismissed by the department, and to a lesser extent, McMaster's Equity and Inclusion Office."

In response to the review, the university said it will now provide training" with a trauma-informed approach" to PNB department staff and faculty. Students will receive sexual harassment training and be better informed of resources available to them. The department will also consider limiting or restricting alcohol consumption at department events.

What survivor-centric" investigations look like

Above all else, survivors need to feel believed, respected and able to make decisions with fully-informed consent," said Miranda Jurilj, public education co-ordinator with SACHA, the Sexual Assault Centre Hamilton and Area.

When this doesn't happen, we see that this causes harm, that people feel their experiences are being minimized, that they're being blamed, being shamed," Jurilj said, speaking generally. A survivor can be re-traumatized in a process that is actually meant to help them heal."

Examples of investigative tactics that Jurilj says can cause harm: forcing a survivor to re-tell their story many times, to different people; imposing confidentiality requirements that silence survivors; failing to allow a survivor input on who investigates their complaint; and dragging out the investigation.

Timing can be very important for a survivor to feel that they're able to start their healing process," she said. Drawn-out investigations can make a survivor feel that their life is on hold."

And if universities fail to conduct investigations through a survivor-centric lens?

All universities need to be mindful that these spaces - if they don't feel safe - contribute to further harm for survivors," Jurilj said.

Yimeng Wang, co-ordinator of the McMaster Students Union's Women and Gender Equity Network (WGEN), says the PNB investigation is shining a light on something many students are already aware of: Structures that protect perpetrators exist throughout the university.

A lot of folks, I think, are rightfully frustrated that it's taken continued investigations into what survivors have already been speaking out about and advocating for change around," Wang said.

The university could take more action to create better responses towards preventing violence from occurring in the first place rather than addressing it after the fact."

In a statement, McMaster says it takes a trauma-informed and anti-oppressive approach" when investigating complaints.

But for DePaulo and Arkilander, the university's status quo is not good enough.

DePaulo says she knows of at least three people who have similar stories to hers: They all reported incidents of sexual violence to McMaster and were all left feeling let down by the university's handling of their complaints. Instead of supporting survivors, the university seemed more committed to protecting perpetrators, DePaulo said.

We all feel like McMaster should have done better, but they don't do better, time and time again," she said.

If you are a survivor of sexual violence and need support, please see the resources below:

• SACHA Sexual Assault Centre Hamilton and Area: 24-hour support line 905-525-4162; www.sacha.ca.

• McMaster University Sexual Violence Prevention and Response Office: svpro@mcmaster.ca; svpro.mcmaster.ca.

• McMaster Students Union Women and Gender Equity Network (WGEN): wgen@msu.mcmaster.ca; msumcmaster.ca/service/wgen.

Katrina Clarke is a Hamilton-based reporter at The Spectator. Reach her via email: katrinaclarke@thespec.com