If you would like to report an incident of sexual violence to Campus Safety, you can expect the following response:
- The person you report to will treat you with dignity and respect. This could be the Security guard, Supervisor or Risk Management Director.
- Campus Safety will meet with you in a private location or online. You may bring one or more support persons of your choice if you wish.
- Before taking your statement, Campus Safety will advise you that they will maintain your confidentiality and only take action that you request in a manner that you are comfortable with. You will retain control of the process at all times. EXCEPTION: If the information you provide indicates that there is an imminent threat to someone's physical safety, Campus Safety has a legal duty to warn that person and take necessary action to protect that person, including advising the Police. Every effort will be made to protect your confidentiality, but this may not be possible in all cases.
- Campus Safety will ask whether you feel safe and work with you to develop an on-campus safety plan.
Campus Safety will take your statement and ask how you wish to proceed. Options include:
- Creating a Campus Safety incident report for information purposes only, in case the person who caused harm begins to pose a safety concern for the person making the report or the wider campus community. Campus Safety will advise the survivor if there is any future indication that their safety is in danger. Unless there is new information, Campus Safety will not take any action directly with the person who caused harm and will advise the survivor before initiating contact with the person who caused harm.
- If the person who caused harm is a student or employee of Trent University, having Campus Safety advise the person who caused harm that the incident has been reported and request that the person who caused harm make any restitution or abide by any conditions requested by the survivor so that they can feel safe on campus and move on. The person who caused harm will also be warned that any further incidents will result in disciplinary action and/or criminal charges. If the person who caused harm refuses to comply, Campus Safety will consult with the survivor to determine what, if any, other options they would like to pursue.
- If the person who caused harm has been identified and is not a student or employee of Trent University, Campus Safety can formally trespass the person who caused harm from campus.
In all cases, Campus Safety will refer the survivor to resources.
Trent University recognizes the challenges that survivors may face when reporting sexual violence and wish to support individuals through whatever process suits them.
We encourage survivors to file a report with Campus Safety or the Police, even if they do not choose to pursue a formal complaint.
Read a more detailed description of your Reporting and Support options.
