Tag: BoG

communication plan

Case Update #3 – Waiting for Documents

kirchmeiervubc

The purpose of this blog post is to provide a case update on the monthly schedule. Not much has occurred since my last communication. As discussed in Case Update #2, UBC’s deadline for document disclosure and its anticipated possible Application to Dismiss is 1 May 2018. My lawyer has reached out to see if UBC might require an extension, but we have not yet heard back. I will update this blog post once we hear back. **Update: UBC has confirmed it is on track to meet the deadline and anticipates disclosing several thousand pages of documents. I will therefore be in Vancouver the week of 1 May.**

If UBC delivers the documents as expected, then I will be in Vancouver the week of 1 May and available to meet. Some class members have expressed interest in meeting. I am happy to do this.

Other than waiting, not much has happened on my end for the litigation. I will note that at the Board of Governors committee meeting this past Friday, 13 April 2018, the new Sexual Violence and Prevention Office (the centralized location on both campuses where victims are supposed to turn for services and to file Reports) reported to the BoG that in the last fiscal year 121 disclosures were received. She further reported that 11 Reports were in the investigation stage, and 25 “files” though it is not clear if the additional files are now closed, or yet to be investigated.

The full BoG meets on 19 April 2018, though discussion of Policy #131 is not on the agenda.

My first reaction to these statistics are that they are extremely low for the number of students enrolled – over 56,000 in the winter session of 2017 at UBC Vancouver, and over 9,000 in the winter session of 2017 at UBC Okanagan. One of the commitments UBC stated in Policy #131 is to reduce barriers to reporting sexual violence/misconduct.

It is unclear how exactly the experiences of survivors will be incorporated into improving future conduct of the office, although UBC employees are claiming to BoG that they will do so.