A group of former and current McGill students have created a draft for a sexual assault policy they hope the university will implement.
The Sexual Assault Policy Working Group, as they named themselves, spent the last couple of years working on the guidelines. They did it because the university didn't have one when it came to dealing with sexual assault on campus.
That came to light in 2013, when allegations of assault and sexual assault against some players of the school's football team surfaced. While the charges were dropped, the idea to come up with a policy was born.
“I think it would make campuses a safer place to be and I think it would make students feel safer on campus,” said Jean Murray, who worked on the policy.
The group consulted with at least 30 groups on campus in order to put the policy together. It focuses on the victim and takes what they call a pro-survivor approach, something that isn’t always the case when dealing with sexual assault, said group member Cecilia MacArthur.
“It becomes a very legalistic approach that focuses largely on the perpetrator, on whether they’re guilty. What that means for the survivor is they’re kind of left in the dust, so we’re trying to centre the attention of the policy onto the survivor,” she said.
The hope is having a policy will encourage people to come forward, she said, because there will be a framework that dictates how the case will be handled.
The group also wants the university to consider taking an intersectional approach, acknowledging that sexual assault can be different for indigenous and transgendered people and visible minorities.
They're also proposing more awareness campaigns that happen more often and focus on making sure people know what resources are available to them.
“There’s not enough being done on not sexually assaulting people and teaching people not just about consent, but how to avoid sexual assault, not from the standpoint of a survivor … but more about how to ensure you’re getting consent from someone before you engage in sexual activity,” Murray said.
McGill says it's working on drafting a policy proposal with several groups, including students.
“Now it’s waiting to see which part of the policy they’ll accept, which they’d like to work on and if they’re even going to use this draft in putting forward a final policy,” said group member Talia Gruber.
The university says it's committed to addressing the issue of sexual violence, but there is no timeline for when an official policy will be presented.
Proposed Sexual Assault Policy of McGill University
