Canadian Services

Overview of Services

D. Stafford & Associates (DSA) offers various services for effectively responding to, managing, and investigating sexual misconduct for Canadian institutions of higher education. DSA can also provide a broad range of consulting services for law enforcement, security, student life, human resources, and compliance officers on campuses.

DSA is a leading expert in addressing sexual misconduct on college and university campuses in North America. We help campus administrators implement best-practice incident response by reviewing (and/or drafting) institutional policies and procedures that are trauma-informed and victim-centered as well as by providing complex administrative investigation support.

DSA also develops and facilitates customized training programs to teach non-criminal fact-finders how to conduct trauma-informed, victim-centered inquiries into complaints of sexual misconduct.

DSA provides comprehensive services to Canadian colleges and universities regarding response, management, and investigation of sexual misconduct cases, to include:

• Auditing existing sexual misconduct and discrimination policies and procedures;
• Developing best-practice administrative policies, procedures, and response protocols pertaining to the intake and resolution of sexual misconduct reports that take into account provincially-specific laws and procedural fairness;
• Conducting administrative investigations (non-criminal) and aiding the institution in appropriately adjudicating misconduct and discrimination complaints utilizing a trauma-informed, victim-centered approach; and
• Conducting on-site training for individual campuses to train students, faculty, and administrators on best practices for preventing and responding to sexual misconduct on campus.

Conducting Administrative Investigations into Reports of Dating Violence/Domestic Violence and Stalking for Canadian Institutions of Higher Education

Join colleges and universities from across Canada for a 2-day intensive seminar covering, in-depth, how administrators should approach incidents of gender-based violence in the postsecondary environment: specifically, incidents of dating violence, domestic violence, and stalking.

The goal of the seminar is to instruct administrators in best-practice trauma-informed ways to conduct administrative investigations into these offenses so institutions can resolve complaints effectively, mitigate risk, support the rights of all students and employees, and engage in data-driven education and prevention efforts. The program will also highlight how Canadian institutions can work with law enforcement and how a concurrent criminal investigation does not relieve the institution of its responsibility to provide a safe and non-discriminatory environment.

This two-day course will cover the following:

Day One (Morning): The Background

1. Examination of provinces with legislation mandating response by postsecondary institutions to sexual misconduct and explanation of requirements that currently apply across Canada;
2. Definitions of dating violence, domestic violence, and stalking in Canada (and best-practice definitions for student and employee conduct policies);
3. Understanding the prevalence and trends of dating violence, domestic violence, and stalking in Canada and on college and university campuses;
4. How dating violence, domestic violence, and stalking impacts student and employee survivors;
5. The role of the Campus Sexual/Gendered Violence Prevention Coordinators/Administrators;
6. Campus sexual misconduct policy and procedure considerations;
7. The role of supports and accommodations;
8. How to work cooperatively with survivors of intimate partner violence or stalking to effectively and efficiently investigate these forms of misconduct on campus;
9. Review of basic domestic violence dynamics, including issues of power and control;
10. Typology of stalkers and managing the intimate and non-intimate stalker on campus;
11. Considerations for cultural competency: male victims/survivors, LGBTQ+ victims/survivors, indigenous/Aboriginal victims/survivors, and survivors with visible and hidden disabilities;
12. How to assist victims in procuring protective orders/stay-away orders and best-practice advice on how such orders will be maintained within the college or university and shared within the institution;
13. Assessing dangerousness/lethality and considerations for campus threat assessment/behavioral intervention teams.

Day One (Afternoon) through Day Two (Morning):The Investigation

1. The difference between disclosures and reports;
2. Conducting intake, providing rights and options, and providing notice to the parties of an administrative investigation;
3. Assignment to administrative investigation;
4. Making predominant aggressor determinations, including interfacing with and interviewing primary/predominant aggressors (batterers);
5. Collection of evidence, including response to cyber-scenes;
6. How to conduct behavioral-oriented interviewing of victims/survivors.

Day Two (Afternoon): Resolving the Complaint

1. Report Writing;
2. Making determinations of responsibility for violations of campus conduct policies;
3. On-campus adjudication considerations;
4. Informal Resolution best practices;
5. Appeal procedures best practices;
6. Notice of outcomes, permanent protective measures, and continuing supports;
7. Managing retaliation and the hostile academic environment;
8. Preventing recurrence.

This training program will feature expert faculty who have served as practitioners in campus police/public safety, human resource management, student conduct, and legal affairs for campuses across Canada and the United States.

This course will provide scenarios, group work, lecture, and sample language/documents to attendees.