(Photo courtesy of @WesternU via Twitter)
A busy week for students, staff, and police as the investigation continues regarding sexual assault allegations on campus at Western University.
With an outpour of allegations circulating through social media about 30 female students allegedly drugged and sexually assaulted, police claim no reports have come forward.
In keeping up with the severity of the incident, a virtual news conference regarding the allegations at Medway-Sydenham Hall at Western was held with Chief Steve Williams and Western President Alan Shepard.
Shepard vocalized that the allegations seen on social media over the weekend has been troubling as London police works with the university during the investigation.
“Safety and security on campus are a priority for us, it is the highest priority. The recent events do not reflect Western’s values, and they are not the Western experience that we would want for our students,” shared Shepard. “Frankly, they are not the kind of experience that anyone would want for young people as they embark on this wonderful new chapter in their lives.”
Unconnected to what we're seeing on social media, Western has received four formal complaints of sexual violence from students over the past week.
— Western University (@WesternU) September 14, 2021
Additional pressure has been put onto the investigation as social media creates a great difficulty in separating fact and fiction with online rumours increasing as each day passes.
Chief Steve Williams recalls that the investigation began due to the inextinguishable flow of online calls for the sexual assault allegations.
“It can be difficult. We don’t know how information, mis-information is swirls around social media and we have to take that into account. It’s really a matter of knocking on doors and talking to people to get the facts, and that’s exactly what we started doing and continue doing. We’ll go where the information will take us.”
Shepard has shared that there are tools for students to feel safe and supported during these times on campus including an upgrade with security.
“We have taken immediate steps to increase security on campus. We have a special constable service, and have increased patrols by about 20 per cent. We also have a larger group of security officers that we have increased by 5 times on campus.”
Additionally, a student lead organization known as ‘Foot Patrol’ is available to help students walk around campus to get to where they need to be during the evenings as part of steps Western has taken to ensure safety for their students during their time on campus.
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