Do you feel like there are shades of grey?
Participant 1: I wonder if there could be a part [of the policy] that would be like, "have you sexually [pause]- do you feel like there are shades of grey?" Because maybe they had sex with someone drunk- they'd access the sexual assault policy, or they would see it [gesturing to mimic seeing a poster], and then they would be like, "oh yeah, I may have done that."
Participant 2: to add to participant one's point, I think it would also be important to clarify "what is sexual assault?" Even for the respondent, like to think, "oh, I didn't ask," or, "I was drinking, and she was drinking, I don't really remember what happened last night." I think it's important to clarify what sexual assault is and get that out there because people are going to see it as rape- ''you raped me'' [pause for emphasis], but that's not always the case, right.
Participant 3: Yeah, I completely agree. [...] I've heard it so many times, "oh, he didn't know" [ pauses shaking head] "he didn't know" [repeated softer]. Then again, sometimes they don't know that sexual assault includes more than rape. There's this idea that it's like a scary stranger in the darkness outside, you know?
Recommendations
-
Engage external investigators to adjudicate all sexual assault cases. Describe the process by which investigators are selected within the policy. Communicate this process to complainants and respondents.