Six months after its filing, former UBCO student Stephanie Hale’s human rights complaint against their handling of her sexual assault report will go ahead — but with a reduced scope.
On grounds of public interest, the BC Human Rights Tribunal has accepted Hale’s complaint against UBCO’s actions between February 2016 and March 2017.
But it dropped her other complaints against former UBCO student Ethan Palmiere — who allegedly assaulted Hale at a party in January 2013 — and the university’s handling of her report between January 2013 and February 2016.
Hale said that while she disclosed the alleged assault to a residence advisor and other university staff in 2013, it was not until February 2016 that she was informed of the ability to file a complaint through the non-academic conduct process. In March 2017, Palmiere was cleared of any misconduct, but the process rejected her request for a trained investigator and didn’t include Hale in most of it.
Throughout that timeline, she said she suffered academically, physically and mentally.
- Amid sexual assault policy implementation, UBC fields another human rights complaint
- UBCO argues for dismissal of majority of human rights complaint’s allegations
- UBC denies discrimination in its handling of sexual assault reports
Unlike the accepted complaint, tribunal member Steven Adamson wrote that he was not persuaded by the public interest argument to allow the two complaints, which were filed outside of the six-month time limit, to be admitted.
“I didn’t expect the part about Ethan to be accepted so it wasn’t a surprise to me, but ... it still feels wrong in my gut that the first three terrible years are being discounted,” Hale said in response.
She also contrasted the fact that there is no statute of limitation for sexual assault with the six-month limit for filing a human rights complaint, while describing the mental and physical difficulties that survivors might experience following an assault.
But Hale is “still stoked” about the decision.
“Initially, I was quite sad and depressed when I got the decision, like, ‘Oh no, they are saying no to half of it,’” she said. “But the more I think about it, the more I think that it’s a net positive outcome for me.
“This is the first major win that I’ve had since the incident over five years ago, so it’s been the most validating thing to happen yet ... I’m just grateful that [the human rights tribunal] exists because this is the only branch of the legal system that I feel like is really doing something.”
Hale said she is unsure of the next step, but has noted that she would decline any potential settlement with UBCO in favour of going straight to a hearing.
UBCO has declined to comment, citing privacy law.