Sexual Violence and Misconduct Policy

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Motion No. 2017BP05.16.01
Approval Date: November 20, 2020
Approving Authority: Board of Governors
Responsible Executive: President

Download 蹤獲扞⑹ Sexual Violence and Misconduct Policy

Table of Contents

Purpose

This document sets out the University of Northern British Columbias Policy and Response Procedures for Disclosures and/or Reports of Sexual Violence or Misconduct.

The Policy and Response Procedures will help ensure that those who choose to Disclose or Report an incident of Sexual Violence or Misconduct have the opportunity to be heard and to have their rights and needs respected. The Policy and Response Procedures are intended to protect and support the rights of the Survivor/person affected by Sexual Violence or Misconduct and hold persons accountable who have been proven to have committed an act of Sexual Violence or Misconduct.

蹤獲扞⑹ is committed to educating the University Community on this Policy and Response Procedures.

The Policy and Response Procedures will be strengthened by a Prevention and Response Plan that will help ensure a swift, coordinated, consistent, fair, and transparent response to Disclosures and Reports of allegations of Sexual Violence and Misconduct.

Policy

1. Policy Statement

蹤獲扞⑹ (蹤獲扞⑹) is committed to providing a safe and positive work and learning environment where Members of the University Community feel safe to work, teach, live, learn, and express themselves in a space free from all forms of Sexual Violence and Misconduct. 蹤獲扞⑹ recognizes that all persons have an inherent right to exercise control over their own bodies and to engage only in consensual sexual activity.

蹤獲扞⑹ does not tolerate behaviour that contributes to a hostile, inequitable and/or unsafe learning, teaching, living, and working environment. 蹤獲扞⑹ expects that all Members of the University Community will abide by the provisions of the Criminal Code of Canada and all of the laws of Canada, and of the Province of British Columbia, including those regarding Sexual Violence and Misconduct.

蹤獲扞⑹ recognizes that Sexual Violence and Misconduct can involve individuals regardless of their sexual orientation, gender and gender identity or relationship status. It is also recognized that individuals who have experienced Sexual Violence and Misconduct may experience physical, emotional, academic or other difficulties.

As such, all incidents of Sexual Violence or Sexual Misconduct that are reported, as per the definition of Report provided below, will be investigated by the University in a manner that ensures due process and natural justice as detailed in the Response Procedures.

蹤獲扞⑹ will strive to create an environment in which making a Report of Sexual Violence or Misconduct to a member of the Response and Support Team is as safe and as comfortable as possible. While making a Report of Sexual Violence or Misconduct may be difficult for an individual, the University aims to foster an environment in which no one feels uncomfortable or unsafe about making a Report in good faith about Sexual Violence or Misconduct that they have experienced or witnessed.

The Board delegates authority to the President to enact Procedures to give effect to this Policy.

2. Definitions

Accommodations academic and non-academic interventions intended to support individuals who have experienced Sexual Violence or Misconduct.

Complainant a person who makes a Report alleging a violation of this Policy.

Confidentiality the legal or ethical duty of a person not to disclose information related to the representation of another person.

Consent active, direct, voluntary, unimpaired, and conscious choice and agreement between adults to engage in sexual activity. The use of drugs or alcohol does not provide any relief from these required elements of consent. If any person involved in sexual activity is under the influence of drugs or alcohol, consent is not valid. Further explanation regarding consent is found in the following points:

  1. Consent cannot be obtained if an individual abuses a position of trust, power, or authority.
  2. Consent is never assumed or implied.
  3. Consent can never be obtained through coercion or threats.
  4. Consent cannot be given if the persons involved are impaired by alcohol or drugs, are unconscious, or incapable of consenting to the activity. This includes a person who does not have the mental or physical capacity to give consent, for example due to that person being impaired by alcohol or drugs, asleep or unconscious, experiencing a traumatic response, or being otherwise unable to communicate clearly.
  5. Consent is not silence or the absence of the word No.
  6. Consent must be given at the outset and at all stages of physical contact or sexual activity.
  7. The Criminal Code age of consent is 16 years of age. A child under the age of 12 is never able to give consent.

Disclosure a person chooses to share information with another person about an instance of Sexual Violence or Misconduct. A Disclosure does not initiate an investigation unless a Report is made or any of the following conditions exist:

  1. An individual is deemed to be at imminent risk of self-harm.
  2. An individual is deemed to be at imminent risk of harming others.
  3. Reporting is required by Law.

Members of the University Community include the following:

  1. Students
  2. Staff
  3. Academic Services (Postdoctoral Fellows, Research Associates, Research Managers)
  4. Faculty
  5. Volunteers
  6. Administrators
  7. Members of the Board of Governors or of the Senate
  8. Visitors of the University when on University property
  9. Contractors to the University when on University property

Report a formal Report made by a Member of the University Community to the Response and Support Team of an incident of Sexual Violence and/or Misconduct with the intention of initiating an investigation process.

Respondent a person who is alleged to have violated this Policy.

Response and Support Team a team of highly trained Members of the University Community who have been selected based on their experience. The Response and Support Team will respond to Reports of violations of this Policy. This Team would not necessarily be involved if the Survivor/person affected by Sexual Violence or Misconduct is only Disclosing.

Retaliation an adverse action or threatened action taken or made through any means, including through social or other electronic media, against a person who is, in good faith, seeking redress or who is otherwise engaged in a process under this Policy, or who is associated with such a person. Retaliation includes threating, intimidating, or harassing conduct that could discourage a person from seeking support or other services, disclosing or reporting Sexual Violence and Misconduct, participating in an investigation, or otherwise engaging with this Policy.

Sexual Misconduct is a broad term that can include sexual assault; sexual exploitation; sexual harassment; stalking; coercion; indecent exposure; voyeurism; the distribution of a sexually explicit photograph or video of a person to one or more persons other than the person in the photograph or video without the consent of the person in the photograph or video and with the intent to distress the person in the photograph or video; the attempt to commit an act of Sexual Misconduct; or the threat to commit an act of Sexual Misconduct.

Sexual Violence is a broad term that can include any form of unwanted sexual contact or activity performed on a person with any object or body part without consent, or by force. Any sexual activity that is without consent is sexual assault and includes sexual contact such as nonconsensual kissing, grabbing, caressing, fondling, and oral, anal, or vaginal penetration.

Student as per the University Act of BC, a student is a person presently enrolled in a credit course or who is designated by a resolution of the Senate as a student.

Survivor/person affected by Sexual Violence or Misconduct any Member of the University Community who has been affected by Sexual Violence or Misconduct. The University recognizes that some people affected by Sexual Violence or Misconduct may not identify with the term Survivor, and have the right to determine how they will be referred to.

Trauma Informed an organizational structure and systems approach that involves understanding, recognizing, and responding to the effects of all types of trauma. Trauma-informed practice does not require the specific disclosure of trauma; rather, it is a systems-wide lens focusing on safe practices and collaborative relationships to assist with healing from adverse life events.

3. 蹤獲扞⑹ is Committed to

  1. Treating individuals who Disclose and/or Report Sexual Violence or Misconduct with compassion, dignity, and respect, and acknowledging there is no single approach to handling Sexual Violence and Misconduct. This means that a Survivor/person affected by Sexual Violence and Misconduct needs to be supported in sometimes different manners, and requires different services, resources, and supports at different stages in their recovery.
  2. Providing the Survivor/person affected by Sexual Violence and Misconduct with timely safety planning assistance.
  3. Providing the Survivor/person affected by Sexual Violence and Misconduct with non-judgmental and empathic support.
  4. Providing the Survivor/person affected by Sexual Violence and Misconduct with academic, nonacademic and work related accommodations as appropriate.
  5. Providing the Survivor/person affected by Sexual Violence and Misconduct with information to help them decide whether, and to whom, they wish to Report an incident of Sexual Violence or Misconduct.
  6. Allowing the Survivor/person affected by Sexual Violence and Misconduct to be the final decision-maker about their own best interests.
  7. Ensuring that on-campus (internal) investigation processes are available for the Survivor/person affected by Sexual Violence and Misconduct who chooses to make a Report to a member of the Response and Support Team.
  8. Engaging in appropriate procedures for the investigation and adjudication of an incident of Sexual Violence or Misconduct which respect University Policies, procedures, and employee agreements in a fair manner and with due process that ensures natural justice.
  9. Coordinating a Response and Support Team that is responsible for responding to Reports of Sexual Violence and Misconduct on campus.
  10. Supporting a safe environment where Members of the University Community can work, teach, live, learn, and express themselves in a space free from all forms of Sexual Violence and Misconduct.
  11. Coordinating education and training programs pertaining to preventing and responding to incidents of Sexual Violence and Misconduct.
  12. Providing education and training that will ensure the following:
    1. A proactive and sustained prevention focus on consent and respect.
    2. That intersectional barriers, power relationships, and other relevant factors are taken into account.
    3. The dissemination of common definitions, principles, and shared values across the University Community.
    4. That 蹤獲扞⑹ will conduct a regular review and assessment of education and training needs.
  13. Ensuring that the members of the Response and Support Team are trained to investigate Reports of Sexual Violence or Misconduct.
  14. Ensuring that the members of the units and offices most likely to receive Sexual Violence or Misconduct Disclosures undergo training.
  15. Ensuring a Trauma-Informed response to Disclosures is available to Members of the University Community.
  16. Implementing harm reduction education in relation to alcohol and other substance use.
  17. Providing information to Members of the University Community about Sexual Violence and Misconduct on any of 蹤獲扞⑹s campuses, through the appropriate and allowable collection of data.
  18. Ensuring appropriate steps are taken during and following an investigation to ensure the continued safety of the Respondent and Complainant involved in an investigation.

4. Prohibited Conduct

  1. All acts of Sexual Violence and Misconduct are prohibited under the Sexual Violence and Misconduct Policy and Response Procedures.
  2. Retaliation of any kind is prohibited, including through social or other electronic media. Any Member of the University Community found to have engaged in retaliation, or threatened or attempted retaliation, may be sanctioned under this Policy or other University Policies.
  3. Breaching the confidentiality of a Disclosure or Report from a Survivor/person affected by Sexual Violence and Misconduct is prohibited.
  4. Knowingly and intentionally making a false Disclosure or Report.

5. Scope and Jurisdiction

  1. This Policy and the Response Procedures apply to all Members of the University Community.
  2. All Members of the University Community impacted by Sexual Violence and Misconduct may access support under this Policy. However, the University only has jurisdiction to investigate Reports of actions, interactions, and behaviours in any of the following situations:
    1. On any property that is controlled by the University and used for University purposes.
    2. When the respondent is, or was, in a position of power or influence over the persons impacted by Sexual Violence and Misconduct.
    3. At an event or during an activity sponsored or under the auspices of the University, including but not limited to the following:
      1. Athletic events
      2. Field schools
      3. Distance and online courses
      4. Co-op and practicum placements
      5. Academic or professional conferences
      6. Volunteer activities
      7. Academic or research field work
  3. If an incident does not meet the above criteria, the University may still take actions to mitigate the impact of any incident on the learning, living, or working environment of the University.

6. Safety - The Obligation to Investigate and to Notify Police

蹤獲扞⑹ has an obligation to Members of the University Community to make all reasonable efforts to protect them from harm. As such, 蹤獲扞⑹ has the right and the obligation to initiate an internal investigation and/or inform the police of the need for a criminal investigation, even without the consent of the Survivor/person affected by Sexual Violence and Misconduct. Confidentiality cannot be assured if any of the following conditions exist:

  1. An individual is deemed to be at imminent risk of self-harm.
  2. An individual is deemed to be at imminent risk of harming others.
  3. Reporting is required by Law.

7. Interpretation and Related Policies and Procedures

This Policy and the Response Procedures are to be read and interpreted in conjunction with the relevant provisions of related Policies and Procedures in effect at 蹤獲扞⑹, including, but not limited to the following:

  1. Student Conduct Statement of Principles (Undergraduate and Graduate Regulations and Policies)
  2. Harassment and Discrimination Policy
  3. Respect in the Workplace Policy
  4. Standards of Conduct (Employee Policy)
  5. Emergency Response to Inappropriate, Disruptive or Threatening Behaviour

To the extent that any of these Policies conflict with the provisions and subject matter in this Policy, this Policy shall prevail.

Notwithstanding the above, should any of the provisions of this Policy or of the Response Procedures under this Policy intersect or conflict with complaint or discipline procedures in any bargained employee agreement, it is the intention that the provisions of the bargained agreement will be followed with respect to the rights and involvement in the matter of the member of the bargaining unit.