My name is Abby Canning and I am a sophomore at George Washington University and a survivor of sexual assault. On February 23rd, 2020, Bilal Bongo was found responsible for sexually assaulting me on George Washington campus in January of 2019. Despite the university found him responsible and acknowledging he violated both the sexual assault and sexual harassment policies, they only suspended him for one semester. This is only one example of GW's pattern of using disproportionate sanctions against sexual assailants.

The fact that the process of investigation took longer than the length of time he will be suspended is unacceptable. As reflected in a previous petition, (which can be found at https://www.change.org/p/gw-justice-for-survivors-of-sexual-violence-at-the-george-washington-university GW's trend of refusing harsher penalties against assailants and justice for survivors is unbelievable.

I urge you to sign my petition to demand that GW implement mandatory suspensions for students who are found responsible for acts of sexual violence UNTIL THE SURVIVOR GRADUATES, with the possibility of higher sanctions INCLUDING EXPULSION in cases involving aggravated circumstances or repeat offenders while retaining the option of an informal resolution for survivors who wish to pursue justice in a form different or lesser than suspension.

Thank you for reading this passage and I hope you are inspired to help stop GW's pattern of protecting the futures of assailants and disregarding the severity of sexual assault.