Quebec student ombudsman gets 1,000 complaints in inaugural year; most related to sexual violence [Video]

Sexual violence in schools is the most common type of complaint filed with Quebec’s student ombudsman, new figures show.

As the newly created institution compiles data ahead of its annual report, a representative said handling the complaints during the first year of operation has been more complicated than expected.

“While we maybe expected there to be quite a bit of complaints related to violence, intimidation, and sexual violence as you see in those numbers, as we actually address those situations and we do our inquiries, we’re finding they’re really, really complex in terms of the number of students involved, the various events that have happened, and what schools are dealing with right now,” said Maia Aziz, a regional student advocate in Montreal, in an interview on Monday.

Aziz is one of 17 student advocates tasked with assisting the Protecteur national de l’élève (Provincial Student Ombudsman).

Lawyer Jean-François Bernier was appointed to the position in June 2022 by …