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902-425-0122

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African Male

They may be just making false claims

Participant 1: Everyone assumes that anyone who claims that they have been sexually assaulted is right - at least ninety percent, right? - because nobody likes to go out and talk about it or say, "Yes, I’ve been sexually abused." However, there are a lot of incidences, or a lot of cases, where you hear people talking about, "I was just saying this and that because this person didn’t do what I want." So, how will you identify that the person has really been sexually assaulted? [...]
Participant 2: How will it be decided [...] if something would be considered sexual violence? I mean, people can just claim that they have experienced sexual violence, but it may not be true. They may be just making false claims.

Recommendations

  • Address concern around wrongful accusations while developing new policies or training materials.

  • Address respondent rights and supports available to respondents in each of the following circumstances: 1) the investigation into the complaint is ongoing 2) the investigation concludes that the respondent has violated the policy, or 3) the investigation does not conclude that the respondent has violated the policy.

  • Provide students with information about what can serve as evidence of sexual assault for the purposes of a university investigation. This information should appear in the policy itself and in educational materials about the policy.