Concordia student organizations walk out of committee, demand sexual assault policy

Student organizations at Concordia University are demanding a sexual assault policy.

Three student organizations walked out of a committee to draft a new sexual violence policy last week, claiming the school isn’t doing enough to protect its students.

“After a number of incidences including a letter of dissent from the CSU (Concordia Student Union) a few years ago about some changes, we decided that it was no longer productive for us to continue on this committee, and that we would be better positioned to campaign against the university from the outside and to put our demands forward instead,” said Mya Walmsley with the Teaching and Research Assistants at Concordia (TRAC) union.

“We’re out there shouting at their building and they’re pretending as if they don’t hear us.”

Asli Isaaq, an academic and advocacy coordinator with the CSU, says the committee was not making any substantial progress.

“As it stands, students come to this committee and it’s riddled with practices that aren’t conducive to getting an actual justice taken for the student,” said Isaaq. “And it also goes in the way of the person that’s being accused of sexual harassment, not having a single policy for both parties to refer to at the beginning is an injustice to all. And even we are really trying to make this university understand the values of having the practices be survivors centric.”

A task force was formed in 2018 to improve sexual assault policies at the school after a non-profit that examines inequalities in educational systems called ‘Our Turn’ gave Concordia’s sexual violence policies a nearly failing grade of D.

Those who formed part of the committee say not much has changed since then.

“It’s meant to be a collaborative committee,” said Walmsley. “But instead we feel it’s being used, rather than in a collaborative fashion, in a fashion that is more directed by the university, where students’ concerns are not taken very seriously, where student worker concerns are not taken very seriously, and ultimately it feels like a bit of a PR move.”

‘You can have a case for sexual harassment and sexual assault, and you’d be turned to an academic tribunal and that there wasn’t a distinction between the two,” added Isaaq. “That’s just completely preposterous to think that that avenue and the people that sit on that avenue are well equipped to deal with the sexual harassment case.”

CityNews reached out to Concordia University but did not immediately hear back.

Students say they will continue to campaign until action is taken.

WATCH: Concordia students protest demanding change to sexual violence policy (2019)