Carleton recently released a draft of its revised sexual violence policy (SVP) for consultation. The revised SVP includes an immunity clause—an exception which grants survivors of sexual violence immunity to punishment for drug or under-age alcohol use which occurred at the time the sexual violation took place.
The immunity clause is intended to prevent survivors of sexual violence from being discouraged from coming forward about the violation they experienced, as has historically been the case.
The introduction of an immunity clause is a good step in combating sexual violence on campus. However, immunity in the current draft only applies to under-age alcohol consumption and minor drug infractions.
This partial immunity could continue to discourage survivors from coming forward about their experiences. In revising its SVP, Carleton must make sure it does not only provide conditional immunity to survivors of sexual violence, and include immunity for possible violations which are not considered minor.
Furthermore, the SVP does not define what counts as a major or minor offence.
If Carleton chooses not to open up the immunity clause to include protection from punishment for non-minor offences, the SVP must be more specific in defining what constitutes a major and minor offence.
