Sexual Misconduct Policy

A. Overview

BrainStation is committed to: (i) providing its students with an educational environment free from sexual misconduct and sexual violence (collectively “sexual misconduct”); (ii) treating its students who report incidents of sexual misconduct with dignity and respect; (iii) investigating and taking appropriate disciplinary and other measures regarding allegations of sexual misconduct.

BrainStation has adopted this Sexual Misconduct Policy (the “Policy”), which defines sexual misconduct and outlines BrainStation’s training, reporting, investigative and disciplinary responses to complaints of sexual misconduct made by its students that have occurred on its campus, or at one of its events and involve its students. In this Policy, the person accused of engaging in sexual misconduct will be referred to as the “Respondent” and the person making the allegation as the “Complainant”. BrainStation is also referred to as the “Institution”.

B. Definition of Sexual Misconduct

“Sexual misconduct” includes:

Any sexual conduct or act, or other act, targeting a person’s sexuality, gender identity or gender expression, whether the act is physical or psychological in nature, that is committed, threatened or attempted against a person;
Sexual assault, sexual harassment, stalking, indecent exposure, voyeurism, sexual exploitation;
The display or distribution of sexually explicit images, photographs or videos of a person to one or more persons with the intent or effect to distress the person in the photograph or video;
The attempt to commit an act of sexual misconduct and the threat to commit an act of sexual misconduct;
The foregoing applies to conduct or acts that occur in person, online or through other communications.

C. Training, Reporting and Responding to Sexual Misconduct

BrainStation shall include a copy of this Policy in every contract made with its students, and provide a copy of this Policy to Institution management (corporate directors, controlling shareholders, owners, partners, other persons who manage or direct the Institution’s affairs, and their agents), instructors, staff, other employees and contractors. BrainStation shall train Institution management, instructors, staff, employees and contractors on the Policy and its processes of reporting, investigating and responding to complaints of sexual misconduct involving its students. BrainStation will provide students access to applicable policies and publish this Policy on its website.

Institution management, instructors, staff, other employees and contractors are required to report incidents or complaints of sexual misconduct to the Campus General Manager or any BrainStation Manager immediately upon becoming aware of them. Students who have been affected by sexual misconduct or who need information about support services should contact the Campus General Manager or any BrainStation Manager.

Subject to this Policy and except as legally required, BrainStation will endeavor to keep all personal information of persons involved in any investigation confidential except where an individual is at imminent risk of self-harm, or of harming another, or there are reasonable grounds to believe that others on its campus or the broader community are at risk. This is done by:

Making all complaints/reports and information gathered as a result of the complaint/reports only available to those who need to know for purposes of investigation, implementing safety measures and other circumstances that arise from any given case; and
Keeping associated documentation in a separate confidential file from that of the Complainant or the Respondent.

BrainStation recognizes that a Complainant may choose or prefer not to report an incident or make a complaint about sexual misconduct or not request an investigation and not participate in any investigation that may occur. In certain circumstances, BrainStation may be required by law or its internal policies to initiate an internal investigation and/or inform law enforcement without the Complainant’s consent if it believes the safety of members of its campus or the broader community is at risk.

In all cases, BrainStation will appropriately accommodate the needs of students affected by sexual misconduct. Students seeking accommodation should contact the Campus General Manager or any BrainStation Manager. BrainStation will assist students who have experienced sexual misconduct related to BrainStation Services to obtain counselling, medical care and information about sexual misconduct victim support and services available in their community. Students are not required to file a formal complaint in order to access support and services.

Students who disclose their experience of sexual violence through reporting an incident of, making a complaint about, or accessing supports and services for sexual violence, will not be asked irrevelant questions during the investigation process by the institution’s staff or investigators, including irrelevant questions relating to the student’s sexual expression or past sexual history.

D. Investigating Reports of Sexual Misconduct

Under this Policy, any student of BrainStation may file a report of an incident or a complaint in respect of allegations of sexual misconduct (a “complaint”) to the Campus General Manager or any BrainStation Manager in writing. The following will also be involved in the investigation as well as any involved parties or witnesses: Campus General Manager, the CEO, and General Counsel.

Upon receipt of a report of an incident or a complaint, the Campus General Manager will respond promptly and:

determine whether an investigation should proceed and if the Complainant wishes to participate in an investigation;
determine the scope of and who should conduct the investigation having regard to the seriousness of the allegation and the parties involved;
determine whether the incident should be referred immediately to law enforcement.

In circumstances involving allegations of sexual misconduct, BrainStation may conduct its own independent investigation and make its own determination in accordance with its own policies and procedures and determine what interim measures ought to be put in place pending the investigation process such as removal of the Respondent or seeking alternate methods of providing necessary course studies.

When an investigation is initiated, the following will occur:

the Complainant and the Respondent will be advised that they may ask another person to be present throughout the investigation;
the Complainant will be interviewed to ensure a complete understanding of the allegation and gathering additional information that may not have been included in the complaint such as the date and time of the incident, the persons involved, the names of any person who witnessed the incident and a complete description of what occurred;
the Respondent will be informed of the complaint providing details of the allegations, interviewed, and given an opportunity to respond to the allegations and to provide any witnesses the Respondent feels are essential to the investigation;
any person involved or who has, or may have, knowledge of the incident and any identified witnesses will be interviewed; and
the Complainant and the Respondent will be provided with reasonable updates about the status of the investigation.

Following the investigation, the Campus General Manager will:

review all of the evidence collected during the investigation;
determine whether sexual misconduct occurred; and if so
determine what disciplinary or other measures, if any, should be taken as set out in Section E below;
inform the Complainant and the Respondent of the conclusion reached and disciplinary measures to be taken, if any.

E. Disciplinary Measures

If it is determined by BrainStation that the Respondent did engage in sexual misconduct, immediate disciplinary or corrective action will be taken, which may include:

expulsion of a student;
the placement of certain restrictions on the Respondent’s ability to access BrainStation Services, premises or facilities; and/or
any other actions that may be appropriate in the circumstances.

If students, in good faith, report an incident of, or make a complaint about, sexual violence, they will not be subject to discipline or sanctions for violations of the institutiton’s policies relating to drug or alcohol use at the time of the alleged sexual violence occured.

F. Appeals

Should the Complainant or the Respondent not agree with the decision resulting from the investigation, they may appeal the decision to the CEO or General Counsel within 10 days by submitting a letter addressed to the CEO or General Counsel advising of their intent to appeal the decision.

G. Making False Statements

It is a violation of this Policy for anyone to knowingly make a false complaint of sexual misconduct or to provide false information in or about a complaint.

H. Reprisal

It is a violation of this Policy to retaliate or threaten to retaliate against a Complainant who has brought forward a complaint, provided information related to a complaint, or otherwise been involved in the complaint investigation process.

I. Policy Review

BrainStation shall ensure that student input is considered in the development of the Policy and every time it is reviewed or amended. BrainStation shall review this Policy annually and amend it where appropriate. The next scheduled date for review is January 2023.

J. Collection of Student Data

BrainStation shall collect and be prepared to provide upon request by any body or authority having such jurisdiction any data or records required to be maintained under or arising from this Policy or any applicable statutes or regulations.