Chancellor David Ward asked campus officials to examine UW-Madison’s sexual assault reporting process and alcohol policies Wednesday, addressing gaps identified in a recent report that revealed sexual assault allegations against former associate athletic director John Chadima.
Despite saying they were satisfied overall with how athletic department supervisors handled a student employee’s alleged sexual assault, investigators recommend the university simplify its sexual assault reporting procedure for faculty.
After viewing the report, Chancellor Ward called for university officials to investigate the campus sexual assault reporting process because of reported confusion with the current policy. University legal services will lead the investigation, according to Vice Chancellor for University Relations Vince Sweeney.
The alleged incident occurred Dec. 31, when student “John Doe” reported to his supervisors that Chadima unfastened Doe’s pants and grabbed his genitals after a Rose Bowl party in Chadima’s hotel suite.
Doe told his supervisors he did not want them to take action until their return to Madison for fear of disrupting the football team’s Rose Bowl preparations.
Given this request, investigators felt the response process by the supervisors was “nearly a model” of how they would hope all such cases could be handled. But investigators also noted the supervisors were uncertain how to immediately respond after Doe made the allegations.
The investigative team reviewed reminders concerning proper sexual assault reporting procedure that university offices sent to faculty and staff last fall. While the large volume of information impressed investigators, they found it confusing at times, and suggest the university create a simplified reporting procedure for cases of sexual assault.
Investigators also suggest the university clarify terms of confidentiality concerning parties involved with a sexual assault case. During their testimonies to various officials, the supervisors reportedly became confused whether their names would be released publicly.
Jacqueline O’Reilly, a representative from Promoting Awareness Victim Empowerment and editor at The Daily Cardinal, said the group was pleased to see the complex situation handled well.
“The way different [victims] handle their assault varies from case to case and ultimately what matters is that the people around them respect how they want to proceed,” O’Reilly said. “In the case of the student, that appears to be the case and that is very comforting to PAVE.”
