Originally dated Thursday, November 12th, 2020.
A recent Instagram Post was made by an alumni of Mount Allison University, in which they highlighted the institution’s actions to silence victims of sexual violence. This post has since gone viral and created a platform for survivors at universities across New Brunswick to come forward and share their experiences anonymously. As such, UNBSU feels it is imperative to continue this conversation at our own university and ensure our institution is held accountable.
The University of New Brunswick's failure to protect and support survivors has been made evident as more and more survivors are coming forward with their stories. We are sincerely concerned with the institutions efforts to prevent and address sexual violence at UNB. The University of New Brunswick Student Union are profoundly disturbed to hear of the extent to which students have been harmed. Consequently, UNBSU would like to affirm that we stand in solidarity with all victims and survivors of sexual violence. We are extremely disappointed in the University of New Brunswick for insufficiently protecting its students, as well as for keeping them in the dark in times when they need information the most.
We recognize that the university is working towards addressing these concerns, but the students of UNB need more. Victims and survivors of sexual violence need to be heard, believed, and supported by their institution and now is not the time to remain silent. Students need to know what their administration is doing to address these allegations. They need to know that UNB is taking these raw, lived experiences seriously, and they especially need to know that their university believes and supports them.
The fact that students fear coming forward publicly and/or making a complaint should warrant signals to administrators that the current processes in place aren’t enough. This requires a re-evaluation of the institution's infrastructure, policies and organizational culture. UNB should be an environment free of rape culture and victim blaming, as well as a safe space where no student fears experiencing sexual violence throughout their academic careers. Survivors should also feel empowered and confident in their administrations ability to prevent, protect, and support them.
In order to address these concerns, the university needs to truly listen to the voices of survivors. We implore UNB to consider having these individuals at the discussion table. UNB must Facilitate an environment where survivors can help shed light on the gaps in UNB’s infrastructure and sexual assault policies, as well as work as a collective to better serve the students rather than making assumptions. While UNBSU is in contact with the administration, we ask once again for the institution as a whole to listen to the voices of survivors and to tell their students what is being done to protect them. No more silence UNB.
Moving forward, we would like to make some recommendations to the University of New Brunswick as they continue to work on addressing these concerns. Firstly, we strongly recommend the removal of Dr. Bhargava, as several of the allegations brought forward pose a great risk to the safety and wellbeing of UNB and STU students. As an alternative to Dr. Bhargava, we ask UNB to consider working with another Psychiatrist from Horizon Health, as well as offering additional mental health services to help support survivors and victims during these extremely distressful times.
We also recommend the University of New Brunswick to provide further training on sexual violence prevention, rather than focusing strictly on risk management. This entails providing the Campus Sexual Assault Support Advocates (CSASA) with a greater opportunity for expansion of their services. This resource is invaluable and should be further utilized for prevention on campus, that of which requires greater investment on behalf of the University of New Brunswick. Additionally, we ask to have the complaint process reviewed with the help of CSASA, survivor feedback and a UNBSU ad-hoc committee. We recommend the complaint process to be conducted by a third-party, so as to remain unbiased and have the best interest at heart for those involved. We also suggest further promoting the complaint process so students can be made aware of it. This should include the disclosure that this process cannot be used as evidence in court if a victim decides to do so in the future.
UNBSU is actively communicating with CSASA to look at ways to further support UNB students and to continue advocating for survivors. CSASA is open to all UNB, STU and NBCC students - they are a great resource on campus that provides non-judgemental support, advocacy, counselling, educational resources, as well as assistance in filing a complaint. Please refer to the resources listed below to find their office line and their 24/7 support line.
Finally, we would like to thank the alumni at Mount Allison University for starting this much needed conversation, and for their tireless efforts in advocating for survivors and victims of sexual violence. We would also like to thank the individual who created the Hold UNB Accountabe Instagram page, which has provided courageous survivors with a safe platform to anonymously come forward and share their stories. This conversation is only the beginning, and we at UNBSU believe you. We truly hope this leads to actionable change province wide, but especially on behalf of the University of New Brunswick.