Queen’s saw over 1,000 misconduct cases last year, with first-year students driving the majority of sexual violence reports.
The University Culture Committee presented the Sexual Violence Report alongside the Non-Academic Misconduct Annual Report in a report to the Board of Trustees on Sept. 27. The reports revealed over 1,000 instances of non-academic misconduct between May 2023 and August 2024, with 95 per cent of incidents occurring in residences, resulting in more than $400,000 in damages and over 50 per cent of cases of sexual violence involving first-year students from May 2023 to April 2024.
The University’s new policy on Sexual Misconduct and Sexual Violence Involving Students, effective Jan. 2. this past year recognizes sexual violence and misconduct as serious issues that can affect individuals of all genders and sexual orientation regardless of whether the student was in a relationship or not.
Over 50 per cent of cases resulted in corrective actions like no directives, loss of privilege, notices of prohibition, and educational sanctions. The report confirmed 35 per cent of harassment incidents were based on gender identity, another 35 per cent were based on sexual orientation, and the last 30 per cent were based on ethnic origin or citizenship. While some cases resulted in corrective action, which was often the punishment for less serious cases, more serious cases had harsher punishments that even included a mandatory withdrawal from the University.
The report highlighted 90 per cent of people were undergraduate students, with half of them being first-year students. There were 10 cases of sexual violence reported last year with two thirds of them being sexual harassment and one third being sexual assault. First-year students were also more likely to be involved in cases of sexual violence, according to the report. It was unclear how many incidents occurred in residence.
Male students were responsible for 85 per cent of the violations, despite making up just under 40 per cent of the student population, the report confirmed. Two point five per cent of the total student population was involved in non-academic misconduct.
Damages in residences decreased by over $150,000 from the previous year, which reported more than half a million dollars in damages and Malicious fire alarm pulls dropped from 105 to 52 incidents from the previous academic year with significant change happening in Victoria Hall, where a security system was installed over the summer, reducing malicious pulls from 42 to 14.
READ MORE: University installs 75 new cameras in Victoria Hall
“Strong partnerships with Kingston Police, City by-law, Campus Safety and Emergency Services, and Queen’s Integrated Communications, continue to lead to improved outcomes, related to surrounding campus behaviour during peak times throughout the year,” the University said in the report.
From the many violations identified, alcohol was the most common violation of the residence contract and community standards with noise, guests, failure to cooperate, and parties following. The report noted a decrease in negative behaviours in residences, particularly regarding damages and malicious fire alarms.
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