Advertisement
News

Feeling let down by universities, survivors meet to fight campus sex assaults

After Mandi Gray filed a human rights complaint against York University, sexual assault survivors from across the country are speaking up against their schools' policies.
Image, opengridscheduler/Flickr. York University campus. Photo, opengridscheduler/Flickr.

Mandi Gray has lost count of the messages she's received from women who say their universities failed them after they were sexually assaulted.

The PhD student publicly alleged last year that York University mishandled her case and emails and Facebook notes began to pour in — all expressing, in different words, "Me too.''

"On one level, it's comforting to know that it's not just me,'' Gray said in a recent interview. "On the other hand, it's absolutely terrifying to know that if I'm raped or assaulted, whether as a graduate student or a professor, there is absolutely no safety net for me.''

Over the past year, an informal network of activists has emerged to fight campus sexual assaults, with Gray as a central figure. Now, the group of women from across Canada is planning to meet to discuss concrete ways to access justice and hold universities accountable. About 10 people, including assault survivors and lawyers, will gather at Toronto's Ryerson University starting on Aug. 4. Three women who have filed human rights complaints will advise others who are considering taking action against their schools.

Gray, 28, filed a complaint with the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal in June 2015 alleging gender discrimination. She said York lacked clear procedures for reporting assaults, forcing her to repeat her story to a dozen staff members. York spokeswoman Barbara Joy said this week the university approved a sexual assault policy last year and is working with student groups to develop new reporting procedures.

A major aim of the August event is to share knowledge about human rights law, said co-organizer Glynnis Kirchmeier, who filed a complaint in March over the University of British Columbia's handling of sex assaults. "It's sort of a brave new world,'' said Kirchmeier. "Mandi was the one who started it, and the rest of us were like, 'OK, our situation is like that and we can see the appeal of this forum.'''


Related: How social media can fight sexual assault on campus


In the United States, a legal provision called Title IX bans gender-based discrimination in universities and has enabled women to successfully sue institutions for indifference to sexual assault and harassment. But in Canada, oversight of universities falls to provinces. Ontario and B.C. have passed laws requiring post-secondary institutions have sexual assault policies, but critics say the legislation lacks consequences for universities that don't comply.

"These policies are not going to accomplish anything, because universities are not going to abide by them,'' said Paniz Khosroshahy, a 20-year-old McGill University student. "There needs to be external oversight.'' Khosroshahy is among the women who will attend the meeting to learn about human rights complaints. She said McGill kept her in the dark about what action was taken against her alleged assailant, resulting in her failing a class because she was terrified of running into him.

McGill has been developing a sexual assault policy since 2013 and recently set off outrage when it rejected a draft written by students. The school said this week it is committed to supporting survivors and a new draft will be ready by fall.

Gray appears to have been among the first in Canada to file a human rights complaint against a university over an alleged sexual assault, said Silmi Abdullah, a lawyer with human rights expertise. Abdullah said the complaints are less costly and adversarial than lawsuits. A civil action mainly provides monetary damages, whereas human rights tribunals have unique powers to order policy changes, she said.

"I think through these human rights complaints, survivors are looking for a real systemic shift in policies and procedures, in addition to monetary compensation,'' she said.

Tribunals usually attempt to resolve complaints through mediation before a hearing. Both Gray and Kirchmeier said they are in mediation. Meanwhile, a verdict in the criminal trial of the man accused of assaulting Gray is expected Thursday. His lawyer did not respond to a request for comment, but media reports have said he testified the pair had consensual sex. Gray has waived a publication ban on her name.

7 responses from Canadian universities to sexual assault reports 

Canadian universities assault

Brandon University, MB

In the news: April 2016

Any student who reported a sexual assault to school administration was required to sign a “behavioural contract” that forbid them from talking about the attack and prevented them from talking to any person involved in the incident. Tom Brophy, the university’s associate vice-president of student services, told the CBC the contract was meant “to protect students." Days after the media reported the story, Brandon president Gervan Fearon announced that the school would no longer use the behavioural contracts, calling their use “inappropriate.” Recently, the CBC requested information from the school’s task force on sexual violence, which met 12 times in the 2015-16 school year. It was told the group kept no minutes or agenda from those meetings, and a report from the task force on sexual misconduct was heavily redacted before being given to the CBC.

Feeling let down by universities, survivors meet to fight campus sex assaultsImage, @elizabeth_goby/Instagram.

Brock University, St. Catharines, ON

In the news: April 2016
The CBC reported that when a student met with Brock president Jack Lightstone to discuss a complaint that a professor had groped and kissed her in 2014, she says she was told that she could receive compensation if she handled the complaint “informally.” (An informal procedure would leave no paper trail or record on the teacher’s file.) The university denies that the president “did anything untoward”; two Brock employees who were present at the meeting do not remember compensation being offered, while a third says it was. When the student’s complaint against the teacher was investigated by a lawyer hired by Brock, it was concluded that the case be closed due to “lack of evidence.” Weeks later, a similar investigation into another student’s complaint against the professor came up with a different conclusion: that this allegation was founded. The professor denies both accounts.

Feeling let down by universities, survivors meet to fight campus sex assaultsImage, Matt Clare/Flickr.

Advertisement

University of Victoria, B.C.

In the news: March 2016

In November, a student reported a sexual assault to the school immediately following an alleged attack. According to the Globe and Mail, UVic hired an external investigator who found that the student had not been sexually assaulted because she had not said the word “no.” When she requested a copy of the investigator’s report, the university gave it to her along with a letter that warned her to not speak about its results: “failure to maintain confidentiality may result in the university pursuing disciplinary actions with its applicable policies.” Two more students, who work in residences, claim they’ve also been pressured to stay silent about campus sexual assaults. The executive director of student services at the university, which does not have a sexual assault policy, says the school does not “put any barriers around students where they can’t tell their story.”

Feeling let down by universities, survivors meet to fight campus sex assaultsImage, @will_hall360/Instagram.

Western University, London, ON

In the news: March 2016

Stanley Dobrowolski was employed at Western as a university psychologist from 1985 to 1994, during which time a number of students complained about his behaviour and two female staff members resigned over his continued employment. After leaving the university, he worked in a private practice in London, where female patients complained about unnecessary sexual touching, which led to a criminal trial. Dobrowolski was convicted of 16 counts of sexual assault, one count of breaking a court order involving 12 women and one count of voyeurism involving nine women in 2014. Western, which adopted a policy on sexual violence that same year, says it did not know about Dobrowolski’s actions. Maclean’s reported that the university didn’t apologize to the former students until March of this year, weeks after one of them filed a lawsuit against the school for abuse she says she experienced during her time there.

Feeling let down by universities, survivors meet to fight campus sex assaultsImage, @seanmvolk/Instagram.

York University, Toronto, ON

In the news: February 2016

After an alleged assault in January 2015, PhD student Mandi Gray refused to return to her classes, saying the school did not taking her sexual assault claim seriously. After a 10-day suspension, the alleged attacker, fellow student Mustafa Ururyar, was able to resume attending classes. Gray, who filed a human rights’ complaint against York, also says the university’s protocol for dealing with sexual assaults is unclear: She says that none of the 14 faculty and staff members she spoke to for guidance could give her answers about measures in place at the school. York has not commented on Gray’s accusations but the vice provost of students, Janet Morrison, told the CBC, "We treat each incidence individually because each survivor's lived experience is unique and needs to be attended to in a way that puts that survivor at the centre of our decision making." Ururyar was charged by police, and the case went to court in February and is currently adjourned until May.

Feeling let down by universities, survivors meet to fight campus sex assaultsImage, opengridscheduler/Flickr.

Advertisement

University of British Columbia, Vancouver, B.C.

In the news: November 2015

Six women filed harassment or sexual assault complaints against history PhD student Dmitry Mordvinov. It took the university more than a year and a half to act, eventually expelling him. One woman, who alleges she was sexually assaulted by Mordvinov in May 2014, says the university ignored her complaint because the alleged assault took place off campus. Another complainant, Glynnis Kirchmeier, told the CBC a university conflict manager told her to keep quiet to prevent others from become fearful. When history students presented a petition for action against Mordvinov to department head Tina Loo, they say they were told the petition was “politically inflammatory and was endangering to the department” and that it would be shut down. Loo says that the characterization that she wanted to keep students from speaking publicly is incorrect. Mordvinov is appealing his expulsion, and Kirchmeier has filed a human rights’ complaint against UBC.

Feeling let down by universities, survivors meet to fight campus sex assaultsImage, abdallahh/Flickr.

McGill University, Montreal, QC

In the news: September 2015

A student who says she was sexually assaulted after the NeuroAnatomy Grad Ball in the winter of 2015 was told the school could not do anything with her complaint since it took place outside a “McGill context.” The school has no sexual assault policy, although students have been working on one since 2013. Administration withdrew support of the latest version of the policy, which was backed by eight student associations, in March. The dean of students, André Costopoulous, said the policy had “some ways” to go and said it will be a slow process. “I think our Charter of Student Rights took something like 10 years to put together,” he told the Montreal Gazette.

Feeling let down by universities, survivors meet to fight campus sex assaults

More:
Cat-calling women is now a hate crime in one U.K. city All Lives Matter isn’t a thing The U.K. could use a ‘bloody difficult woman’ like Theresa May

GET CHATELAINE IN YOUR INBOX!

Subscribe to our newsletters for our very best stories, recipes, style and shopping tips, horoscopes and special offers.

By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy. You may unsubscribe at any time.

Advertisement
Advertisement