‘They did nothing’: Allegations of sexual assault, druggings ignored by Bishop’s University, say students

Students allegedly sexually assaulted or drugged at Bishop’s University are accusing the school of staying silent and not taking their complaints seriously.

Bishop’s students are coming forward with allegations of rape and other traumatic experiences. They say the Sherbrooke, Que., university – about 165 kilometres east of Montreal – has done nothing about it.

One student has spoken on condition of anonymity, fearing for their safety. CityNews has agreed to keep their identity confidential.

“A whole group of women and I were drugged in 2018 during a Halloween party on campus, at the campus pub. I went to report it to security. They asked me what I was wearing that night. And that has no relevance to the actual case. Then they proceeded to do nothing about it.

“I gave names. They did nothing about it, didn’t ask any questions to anybody. Nothing. It’s been three years and I’ve heard nothing back.”

#WATCH: “The university stays silent,” says a Bishop’s University student who was drugged on campus and was never followed up with after reporting it. Several students have come forward with their stories of sexual assault being ignored or downplayed. They’re now demanding action pic.twitter.com/kgIui0eqnA

— Alyssia (@rubertuccinews) November 10, 2021

The student says victims feel unprotected, unsafe, and they don’t want to go onto campus anymore.

“The university stays silent and that allows perpetrators to think that their behaviours are acceptable and that they can get away with these behaviours,” they said. “So it’s really infuriating to be sitting here and having to be begging the university for change to feel protected when we signed up to be part of a protected community.”

Feeling silenced by the university and wanting to get their voices heard, the alleged victims have begun sharing their stories in an unconventional way.

They have been writing out their messages and putting them up on cement barriers outside the university.

One reads: “He raped me I reported he’s still in my class BU take action.”

Watch. This. Video. What one student at Bishops University did to be heard. @rubertuccinews has the story for CityNews from Montreal and finds other students are coming forward saying sexual assaults are not taken seriously. pic.twitter.com/3SQKV0uKjw

— Cynthia Mulligan (@CityCynthia) November 10, 2021

Similar stories have been shared on an anonymous “Bishop’s Confessions” Instagram page with nearly 2,000 followers and 12 new posts in the past day.

One post says: “Got raped and am a guy. Wasn’t believed. Was offered ‘meditation for anger management’ but no survivor support.”

And another: “I had my drink roofied at happy hour by a classmate. When I finally processed what had happened and came forward, they told me too much time had passed to take action. It had only been a few weeks.”

Credit: Jaidan Stockill

Bishop’s student Jaidan Stockill launched a petition demanding the school reform its policies. The petition had garnered nearly 9,000 signatures by Wednesday afternoon.

“To go relive your traumatic experience and have to tell someone about it, it’s extremely difficult,” said Stockill. “And the fact nothing is being done made me so upset and so frustrated.

“You can get expelled so quickly for plagiarizing. If you breach academic integrity, you’ll get expelled from the school. But then whenever someone takes advantage of someone else, well now there’s a gray area, which is frustrating.”

The dean of student affairs at Bishop’s, Dr. Stine Linden-Andersen, says the university recognizes it’s a difficult time for survivors of sexual assault on campus.

“We encourage students to come forward with these concerns to either us, or we’ve launched an independent investigation into these important messages,” she said. “So this will be investigated by someone, not from BU – an independent investigator who will look into this to make sure nothing was missed.

“It’s very important that we hear those stories. And I tell them we investigate every formal complaint we get, and when we have a disclosure on a formal complaint, we stand with the survivor.”

After holding a town hall on these issues Tuesday night, university officials say they’ve already begun reviewing their policies.

“Those changes are student-driven and they’re going to the board in December,” said Linden-Andersen. “But I’m hearing from the students they want another review so we’re going to start that right away.”

WATCH: Western University students march for survivors of sexual violence (Sept 17)

Another Canadian university recently faced a reckoning with allegations of sexual harassment and assault on campus.

In early September, students at Western University in London, Ont., protested what they described as a toxic campus “culture of misogyny.”

London police said four women came forward with formal complaints about being sexually assaulted on campus. Police also investigated allegations made on social media of mass drugging and sexual assaults at a residence on campus during orientation week.

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In response, Western implemented a requirement that all students living in a residence take a training on sexual assault and consent.

The Ontario government reacted by suggesting post-secondary institutions update their sexual violence policies to better support students who come forward with complaints.

At Bishop’s, one of the students’ demands is immediate disciplinary action against perpetrators.

“They say it’s a survivor-centred response, but a survivor-centred response also includes protecting a survivor from their abuser,” said the student who chose to remain anonymous.

“We need them to take our voices seriously. Sit down and ask us what we think should be in the policy.”

–With files from The Canadian Press.