Filing directly to the police is better
I think filing the report directly to the police is better than contacting the university first because it is a more direct way and it wastes less time. If the person decides to seek therapy within the university, that’s a different case- but I don't think there needs to be a link between the person, university and the police.
Recommendations
-
Deliver accessible education about Canadian sexual assault laws, including how they work, and the ways they tend to fail survivors in practice.
-
Highlight which university staff victims/survivors can report sexual violence to so they need only report once.
-
Clarify the relationship between university policy and the criminal justice system.