The majority of Concordia University students and alumni who filed claims of being sexually assaulted or harassed were disappointed in how the school responded, according to a study conducted in the wake of allegations of widespread misconduct in the creative writing department.

According to the report, nine per cent of students had experienced some form of sexual violence, and 70 per cent of the victims chose not to report the incident.

They felt nothing would be done if they went to school authorities.

Of those who did report the incident, 70 per cent were dissatisfied with how their case was handled, saying there were often no follow-ups, and no consequences for the perpetrators.

“The professor who sexually harassed myself and a friend of mine, he’s still teaching there, so I don’t understand,” said former student Ibi Kaslik. “It’s 20 years later and it’s more stalling… They just want it to go away.”

Concordia Student Union general co-ordinator Sophie Hough-Martin said that while the study is a step in the right direction towards changing the attitude towards harassment, the study did contain some glaring flaws.

“Our initial thoughts was that there a little too much focus on awareness of exciting policies and not enough focus on where those policies are failing students,” she said. “About 70 per cent of students who did report had a negative experience… was not mentioned except in the very end of the appendices of the report, which was a little troubling to us.”

The study concluded part of the challenge the school is facing is informing students about their options.

Many of the respondents said they weren’t sure what resources were available to them.

Lisa Ostiguy is a school official and chair of its Task Force on Sexual Violence and Sexual Misconduct.

She was disappointed but unsurprised by the study’s findings.

“I think that stat is pretty consistent with North American universities,” she said. “It’s sort of in line with other studies that have taken place.”

She said that one of the task force’s main objectives is to inform victims what options they had if they experienced an assault.

“This lack of awareness builds a mistrust and unclear expectations of the process when we don’t have anything formally written down,” she said.

The task force will also look to streamline the process of reporting a sexual assault.

To help clarify matters, the university will create a website to try and streamline the complaint process.

It will also strongly discourage relationships between students and teaching staff and demand they be disclosed.

It will also provide mandatory training for all staff on the issue of sexual violence.

Ostiguy admitted that there is still a gap between expectations and reality when a complainant comes forward.

“There is also a gap in what people expect when they come forward with a complaint,” she said. “For instance, a lot of people say, ‘I never found out what happened with the complaint I made.’ We could do better on informing about processes, but due to privacy laws we can’t give any information on sanctions we’re imposing.”

Other recommendations from the study include creating a step-by-step guide for filing complaints, information on effective bystander intervention, and a review of the process every two years.

Researchers spoke to 1,500 students for the study.

The Quebec government will require all universities and CEGEPs to have a code of conduct for intimate relationships and a complaints procedure by September 2019 as part of Bill 151.

In January, several former Concordia students came forward with allegations of sexual misconduct by professors within the school's creative writing department. Two professors were later removed from classes as they were investigated and the school issued new guidelines regarding student-teacher relationships. They have not returned to their classes as the investigation is ongoing.

Kaslik was one of the former students who came forward. She said the university's efforts have been insufficient, and perpetuate what she calls a “toxic” environment at Concordia.

“Until I see something concrete happen with what happened to me. To me, everything that’s within that report is exactly as it was 20 years ago, and there's actually been nothing done,” she said.