In this third and final article in the Western sexual assault series, Arthur will delve into the policy changes that Western University has implemented since the alleged O-week incidents, get an expert’s opinion on whether these changes are enough to protect Western’s students, and contextualize this issue as a phenomenon not solely unique to Western, but as an issue that is reflective of Ontario’s campus-wide rape culture crisis.

In this article, Elizabeth Mitton discusses the Western incident on an incident-specific level, considering student and administrative perspectives, including contention surrounding the language being used and students responses on social media, followed by contextualizing this incident on a societal level, discussing the prevalence of sexual violence across the campuses of various Canadian universities.

Elizabeth Mitton deconstructs the ongoing investigations into sexual violence on Western University’s campus. What happened at Western in the fall of 2021? How have police and the university administration responded? And what does this mean for campuses cross Ontario as they continue work to combat rape culture and prevent sexual violence on campus?