'It’s completely disrespectful': UBC student union postpones vote on sexual violence policy

Canada’s largest student union at the University of British Columbia has postponed voting on a new sexual violence policy following student criticism.

On Friday, The Alma Mater Society (AMS), a union independent of the university, announced it would be taking more time to review two of its policies, PC1 and PC2. PC1 is the union’s respectful community and workplace policy while PC2 is its sexualized violence policy.

At its last council meeting on Aug. 29, students challenged the AMS on various clauses in the sexual violence draft proposal, such as the false claims clause which states, “For persons who intentionally make malicious and false allegations of Sexualized Violence, the AMS can take corrective action.”

Mariam Abdelaziz, the chair of the UBC Social Justice Centre, said she’s heard from community members that they are fearful of how this provision could impact them.

“We think it feeds into a myth that sexual assault survivors are liars and a clause like this has the potential to deter survivors from coming forward,” Abdelaziz said.

AMS President Esmé Decker said the union’s legal team advised it to include the clause due to incidents in the past where current policies were weaponized.

“I’ve also heard from both people who have experienced sexualized violence and have also been the target of false claims that this was a very important clause to them,” she said.

AMS PROMISES MORE CONSULTATION 

Another aspect of the policy students are objecting to is who gets to oversee these allegations. In the draft proposal, under a section called “Decision Makers,” certain members of the AMS, such as the VPs of Finance and Administration, would be allowed to adjudicate over claims of sexual misconduct.

Decker said these individuals will have to undergo sexualized violence training and be well-versed in trauma-informed approaches.

“It’s completely disrespectful,” said third-year UBC student Daniel Anene about the clause. Anene told CTV News he doesn’t think undergraduate students are qualified to take on these roles.

“One of the people in their classroom could be hearing the most intimate details of some of the worst things that have happened to them, and they get to choose whether they believe them or not,” he said. “They have no right doing so.”

Decker said the original policies are from 2019 and that the goal was to have PC1 and PC2 finalized by the new school year. She said the AMS has reached out to experts and consultants to review the policies, and hopes to vote on a new draft by the end of this school-term.

“We’ve heard loud and clear that people want more time to be engaged and have conversations around what goes into these updates, and we’re looking to have more consultation now,” Decker said.