Amidst a developing sexual assault policy, students at York University were not notified of a sexual assault that occurred on campus March 6 until the student newspaper made the information public.
No confirmation has yet been attained in relation to whether the sexual assault in question involved a York University student or employee, or York property.
York did not release a security bulletin because the university said there was no residual ongoing risk to the community, according to York media relations officer Janice Walls.
A bulletin will be sent only if both “a serious incident has occurred” and “there is a risk of re-occurrence,” according to the York University Security Services website.
Michael Burton, executive editor of York’s student paper Excalibur, disclosed word of the sexual assault on the newspaper’s website after receiving an anonymous tip about the incident. York officials confirmed the date of the assault in the article.
Walls said York Security Services and the Toronto Police Service were notified of the incident when it happened on March 6.
The Toronto Police Service cannot confirm the occurrence of the assault, nor can they release any details related to it.
York University has been working on improving its sexual assault policy, which Walls said includes assessing York’s “current capacity to respond to sexual violence” and developing corresponding pan-university programs.
“The sexual assault group is looking at initiatives that we already have in place at York and policies at other universities to determine what needs to be included in a sexual assault policy here,” Walls said via email.
