UBC Hires Investigator To Review Its Response To Sexual Assault Complaints

The Canadian Press, 17 Dec, 2015 11:47 AM

VANCOUVER — The University of British Columbia has hired an independent investigator to review its response to sexual assault and harassment allegations raised by a group of former and current students.

Three women held a news conference last month to complain that school administrators took a year and a half to act on multiple allegations of sexual assault against a PhD student.

Associate vice-president of equity and inclusion Sara-Jane Finlay says UBC has hired Vancouver labour and employment lawyer Paula Butler to review the case.

Finlay says a report will be ready in February with a summary available to the university community.

The incident exposed the university's lack of specific procedures to respond to sexual assault complaints, instead relying on a general discrimination and harassment policy.

Finlay says UBC will announce in January a number of initiatives to support the development of a standalone sexual assault policy.

Prev Next

MORE National ARTICLES

Human-Rights Complaint To Be Launched Against The University Of British Columbia

Glynnis Kirchmeier approached school administrators on multiple occasions, beginning in 2011, after observing instances of alleged sexual misconduct by a fellow student but the university failed to act on her complaints until recently

Human-Rights Complaint To Be Launched Against The University Of British Columbia

Feds Won't Help Air Canada Pick Up $100-Million Sky Marshal Security Tab

The government dismissed the airline's concerns about costs and other aspects of the program earlier this year on the grounds that changes would "compromise public safety."

Feds Won't Help Air Canada Pick Up $100-Million Sky Marshal Security Tab

Smithers Highway Of Tears Gathering: Another Roadblock Or Road To Bus Line?

Eighteen women have been murdered or disappeared along Highway 16 and adjacent routes since the 1970s.

Smithers Highway Of Tears Gathering: Another Roadblock Or Road To Bus Line?

Stephen Colbert Mocks Curling's Directional-Fabric Broom Controversy In Canada

Late Show host Stephen Colbert dedicated six minutes of his monologue on Friday night to the controversy over directional-fabric brooms in curling.

Stephen Colbert Mocks Curling's Directional-Fabric Broom Controversy In Canada

'Intimacy Discount:' Sentences Lighter For Men Who Kill Female Partners

Men who kill their female partners are more likely to be criminally convicted than men accused of killing strangers — but they also tend to get lighter sentences, a Canadian study concludes.