Whisper Network: More sexual violence investigations, more violations of policies, new McMaster report reveals

A new report from McMaster suggests the university is believing more survivors of sexual violence, says one expert in campus assault.

But without knowing what sanctions perpetrators face, it's difficult to say if justice is being served.

The annual report from McMaster's Equity and Inclusion Office (EIO), released last week, shows the rate of sexual violence and/or discrimination and harassment complaints investigated by the university jumped from 51 per cent to 75 per cent over the course of three academic years, from 2017-18 to 2019-20. Nearly 90 per cent resulted in a finding there had been a violation of the policy in 2019-20, compared to just 50 per cent the previous two years.

Maddie Brockbank, a McMaster PhD student studying campus sexual violence policies, said the report is encouraging - to a point.

I think it shows a shift toward believing survivors in a really great way," Brockbank said. But at the same time ... after a violation of the policy is found, that's a great symbolic step, but do the sanctions reflect that?"

The report comes in the wake of a Spectator investigation into how McMaster handles sexual violence, which revealed student survivors feel the university's policies silence them and protect perpetrators. Advocates and survivors have called on the university to review its sexual violence policy. The university has so far resisted the calls.

Arig al Shaibah, associate vice-president of equity and inclusion at McMaster said the new EIO report suggest her office is providing the right supports and resources to people coming forward with complaints, which leads to stronger" cases.

I think folks are doing a lot more thinking and consulting prior to bringing those cases forward as a formal complaint," al Shaibah said in an interview. That just means it's a stronger complaint case and we can then investigate it because it's ... under the jurisdiction of our policy, it fits the definition of sexual violence."

The university does not investigate all complaints. Reasons for not investigating include: the complainant withdraws the complaint; the parties reach a resolution; and the complaint falls outside the policy or the university's jurisdiction.

Asked if the statistics could instead show there are more serious cases of sexual violence on campus, al Shaibah pointed to provincial and federal surveys showing instances of campus sexual violence have remained consistent in recent years. Anonymous surveys, she adds, are a better measure of the rate of sexual violence on campus, since not all survivors report harassment or sexual violence.

I can't say whether its good or bad that more are being investigated," al Shaibah said. What you want is to investigate strong cases."

Asked if a recent climate review" relating to allegations of sexual violence within the school's Department of Psychology, Neuroscience and Behaviour could be behind rise in cases investigated, al Shaibah said if the particular cases fell within the period they would be counted. Since February 2020 the university has sanctioned seven faculty, staff and graduate students connected to the department. One, assistant professor Scott Watter, was arrested and charged with sexual assault and sexual assault causing bodily harm. It's not known how many allegations were made. The EIO report includes data collected between Sept. 1, 2019 and Aug. 31, 2020.

McMaster doesn't release information about what sanctions - if any - are applied to individuals found in violation of the university's policies, citing privacy legislation. McMaster's sexual violence and discrimination and harassment policies state that in cases where sanctions have direct relevance" to a complainant, such as a no-contact order, the complainant is informed. Sanctions are proportional to the severity of the offence."

Brockbank said McMaster's sexual violence investigation process remains flawed in other ways too.

She pointed to survivors' accounts shared with The Spectator, including Steffi Arkilander's gruelling 10-months-long ordeal throughout which her life was largely put on pause: McMaster discouraged her from speaking with potential witnesses about the investigation, effectively cutting off her support network, she said; she felt on edge constantly, bracing for emails informing her of yet another investigative delay; and she had to share intimate details of her assault with a male investigator when she would have preferred a female investigator.

Arkilander's investigation ended in March 2019. The university determined her perpetrator violated its sexual violence policy. But she has no idea what sanctions or consequences were meted out, other than a no-contact order.

Other noteworthy findings in the EIO report:

• Cases in which interim measures" - such as a campus ban or leave of absence, measures put in place while an investigation is in progress - were applied to a respondent nearly doubled, jumping from 45 per cent to 80 per cent between 2018-19 and 2019-20;

• In 2019-20, 29 complaints (complaints can trigger an investigation) cited the protected ground of sex, which includes sexual harassment and assault, up from 21 the previous year;

• The average length of an investigation process shrunk from 6.7 months in 2018-19 to 5.4 the next year;

• The university recorded 121 disclosures of sexual violence - meaning someone comes forward about an experience of sexual violence, for example, to access support, but doesn't necessarily file a complaint - in 2019-20, up from 101 the previous year;

• 46 complaints were filed relating to the university's sexual violence and discrimination and harassment policies in 2019-20, compared to 44 the previous year.

Another noteworthy trend: the number of people participating in consultations" - defined by the university as instances when an individual seeks advice and/or guidance on a matter related to discrimination, harassment, and/or sexual violence" - relating to the protected ground of sex, which includes sexual harassment and assault, more than doubled. There were 59 such consultations in 2017-18, 80 the next year and 151 the next.

One reason listed for why people sought consultations: Fear of me too' campaign."

The #MeToo movement was popularized in 2017 as a campaign raise awareness of the pervasiveness of sexual assault. In its wake, countless men in positions of power saw their past misconduct exposed.

Al Shaibah said the fear of me too'" topic might be an example of someone aware of movement and wanting to be on the right side."

They want to make sure they're not going to be saying or doing anything that may be construed as sexist or sexually harassing," she said, noting the EIO encourages people to engage in consultations. There were a total of 477 consultations relating to a range of issues in 2019-20, up from 405 the previous year.

The report also noted a marked increase" in the complexity" of complaint matters.

Al Shaibah said complexity could include more than one policy applying in a complaint or people fitting into two categories, such as teaching assistants, who are both students and employees.

Supports for survivors of sexual violence:

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.