For crisis intervention or mental distress: Provincial Mental Health and Addictions Crisis Line:
1-888-429-8167

For Confidential support to post-secondary students in Nova Scotia:
Good2Talk: 1-833-292-3698
or text GOOD2TALKNS to 686868

Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner program for the Halifax area:
902-425-0122

Get toll-free numbers for other Nova Scotia regions

 

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Caucasian Female

Legal mumbo jumbo

There’s a lot of legal mumbo jumbo which might not be understandable for people who maybe have a language barrier.[...] And because it’s just so long, like, a lot of people want to find the information they need at that moment and not have to look through a document trying to find what applies to them.

Recommendations

  • Emphasize the victim's right to decide whether they would like to report the incident after they have disclosed it to the university. Ensure the victim is aware of the formal and informal routes for reporting, including the option of reporting to the police. Clearly communicate any limits to confidentiality.

  • Describe possible legal and institutional consequences for respondents found to have engaged in sexual violence. Provide indication of the range of consequences likely to follow a range of policy violations.

  • Offer fictionalized but representative examples of how disclosures and reports to the university have been handled.