Updates to the Sexual Violence Policy to be presented to Board June 9

In order to comply with new Quebec legislation about the protection of personal information and to protect the integrity of the investigation process, four updates are being made to the Policy on Sexual Violence of Dawson College.

Bill 64, which comes into effect September 2022, led to the insertion of the following paragraph in article 10.5.3.1 of the Dawson policy: “At the request of the individual who filed a complaint, the educational institution shall provide them with information regarding the complaint process, that is to say, whether or not a sanction was imposed and the details and terms and conditions of the sanction, where applicable.”

The other significant change is also in 10.5.3.1 of the policy: “Participants in the investigation will be required to sign a non-disclosure agreement in order to protect the investigative process.”

Director of Student Services Monique Magnan explained to the Standing Committee on Sexual Violence at a meeting in April that this is “to prevent any negative impact on the process.” If confidentiality cannot be maintained, it ends up hurting everyone involved and compromising the investigation, she said.

Whistleblower protection has been added to the policy with the following new sentence in article 10.5.2: “The identity of the individual(s) who reports will not be disclosed.”

Lastly, a reference to the old Student Code of Conduct has been replaced with the Code of Conduct, which came into effect in August 2021 and applies to all students and employees of the College.

The modifications will be presented to the Board of Governors of Dawson College at their June 9 meeting.