As far as I know, we're the only university in Canada that mandates that an external investigator be required. We felt it was important, not so much because of accountability for the university, but mainly because we are taking away due process protections of face-to-face meetings and the ability to question witnesses and those sorts of things. We thought it was particularly important for those accused of sexual assault to have the comfort of an external investigation. People right now are talking a lot about sexual violence, and universities are taking a tough stand on it. We wanted to reassure those who are accused that they would also get a fair shake, that they weren't going to be judged by an internal university process.
The students came to us and said that they didn't trust the universities, and this was also part of how we sold it, in terms of resource implications, to our university. We said that until you build a climate of trust, this is the way to do it. This is the way you will get students to come forward, because you're not taking it on yourself and they don't trust us yet.