A CBC News investigative series into campus sexual assaults is based on flawed data. Comparing one university to another accurately is impossible because, across Canada, there is no standard method of capturing data, no standard definition of sexual assault for reporting purposes, no standard reporting by size and type of university, no standard reporting relationships between investigative bodies such as police forces and campus security personnel, and chronic under-reporting overall. This is detrimental to, and sensationalizes, a story that instead could have been used to bring about positive change. 

 

“Sexual assault is unacceptable, no matter what the statistics. We appreciate that CBC is attempting to bring necessary attention to this societal issue, but to do so in such a manner by attempting to use flawed statistics is not only unhelpful, it is just wrong,” according to Susan Mesheau, Acadia University Vice-President of Enrolment and Student Services. “To compound the issue, the CBC has actually projected the number of sexual assaults in universities that have a student population of less than 10,000.  They have not used real data; they have simply indicated that if smaller universities had a student population of 10,000, not 2,500 or 3,500, those universities would probably have had this number of sexual assaults.” 

 

Universities the size of Acadia typically are much better at developing a culture and climate that encourages students to understand the very broad meaning of assault – which can range from unwanted touching to rape, and to feel comfortable reporting it if they feel it may have occurred.  

 

“It is far easier for a small university to develop excellent relationships with students, the community, and policing bodies, to put good systems in place for reporting incidents and to support its students,” says Mesheau.  “We take the issue of sexual assault very seriously. The Acadia community – students, faculty and staff cooperatively – has been working diligently for many years to do that, and we have adopted the broadest possible definition of sexual assault.  Our faculty and staff have dedicated themselves to addressing the issues of sexual violence, and promoted open dialogue. We are far from solving this problem but, unfortunately, CBC’s use of flawed data to compare one university to another appears to be an attempt to punish or shame those universities who are taking this issue seriously and working to address it.”

 

Acadia University tracks every statistic on and off campus, and has excellent relationships with policing organizations off-campus.  Programs have been developed that ensured a level of trust that encourages students to come forward in a safe and supportive environment, and processes put in place to provide students with significant supports.  Its efforts include the regular promotion of resources in electronic and print formats as well as classroom presentations from professional staff and law enforcement personnel, which identify options available to victims and describe how various processes work. Faculty members continue to undertake many initiatives to address this issue, including the establishment of an equity officer, and the development of class-related projects to create discussion and feedback from students about the best ways to support a community that takes this issue seriously.

 

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