The judge found the Crown unable to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the student did not consent because her testimony was unreliable and incredible
CW: sexual harassment, sexual assault, grooming
This article serves to provide an update piece to our previous court coverage of the McMaster University associate professor Scott Watter case. The content within this article may be upsetting or triggering as it deals with sexual harassment, sexual assault, grooming. For a list of resources, please see the bottom of the article.
Watter has been found not guilty of sexually assaulting a graduate student in a judge-only trial on December 15th. Justice Amanda Camara found the Crown unable to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the complainant did not consent to the physical acts.
Silhouette staff attended the judgement hearing of R. v Scott Watter on Dec. 15.
The complainant, a PhD student in the PNB department, alleged that Watter had sexually assaulted her on five occasions in 2017. Watter, her former undergraduate professor with whom she later developed a friendship with during her PhD study, was charged with sexual assault and sexual assault causing bodily harm in mid-2020.
Camara explained to the Hamilton court that the Crown was able to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that four sexual acts occurred. However, evidence that the student did not consent to the acts did not meet the burden of proof. Camara also stated that the student was an unreliable and incredible witness due to inconsistencies between what she said to the police, to The Spectator, during testimony in the trial and in text messages between herself and Watter.
Camara pointed to an example of contradicting narratives between the student’s testimony and text message exchanges between the student and Watter.
“The issue is that [the complainant] testified that she was never interested in a romantic relationship with Dr. Watter, but text messages demonstrate she communicated about the progression of the romantic relationship and even talked about renting an apartment together,” said Camara.
Camara stated that the inconsistencies, though they did not directly concern consent, dealt with witness credibility. She stated that she could not rely solely on the student’s testimony without corroboration from external evidence.
Camara stated that the complainant could have a motive to fabricate, based on a statement she made about having the ability to ruin Watter’s life.
Additionally, Camara explained that the Crown was not able to establish that Watter misused his dominant position to extract or persuade consent.
“There is no doubt that the relationship was ill-advised, but there is not ground beyond a reasonable doubt,” said Camara.
Moreover, the judge stated that the complainant appeared to control the narrative. Camara explained that during cross-examination, when explaining events that occurred, the complainant would also analyze reasons for inconsistencies from a psychological perspective, instead of solely explaining what occurred. Camara stated that in those instances, she was providing a testimony of expert opinion that she was not qualified to give during the hearings.
“[The complainant’s testimony] appeared as if she had an agenda providing the details of her experience, rather than being a witness to an event who was providing this court with the most accurate record of what occurred,” said Camara.
In an interview with the Hamilton Spectator, the victim stated that she was disappointed by the decision and that her case demonstrates flaws in the legal system that can protect the powerful and privileged. She also stated that she would use her experience to continue to help other sexual assault victims.
Watter was placed on paid administrative leave during the trial. As of publication, McMaster has not made an official statement on Watter’s future employment status.
If you are a survivor of sexual violence and need support, please see the following McMaster and Hamilton resources:
Sexual Violence Intake Offices
Sexual Violent Supports
C/O Anna Katherine Verdillo, taken at PNB formal 2019
Student societies, clubs and services are looking forward to in-person events
Soon after the start of the semester, McMaster released a statement regarding in-person classes in the winter 2022 semester with very limited exceptions. In the same update, students were promised pre-pandemic capacity for on-campus student life activities, such as services, resources, events, study spaces and social spaces. In light of this announcement, program councils and McMaster Students Union services have begun considering larger in-person events for winter.
For instance, the Psychology, Neuroscience and Behaviour Society is in its early stages of planning for its traditional winter formal. Dianne Cardwell, one of the Vice Presidents of Social of PNB Society, hopes in-person events can help students forge new connections within the psychology, neuroscience and behaviour program.
“We’ve definitely found this year there seems to be a separation between the second-years and other members of the program just because they’ve been isolated and not in the McMaster community. We are really hoping to make those second-years feel accepted into the Mac community and PNB community as a whole,”
Dianne Cardwell
Similarly, the Bachelor of Health Sciences Society typically organizes a formal event in January along with a club night. Two years ago, they also collaborated with societies from kinesiology, engineering and PNB to host a pub night. Currently, it has been difficult for BHSS to plan much ahead, with changing restrictions and guidelines from the government and the school.
“For now, we are trying to see if we can plan based on what we know right now . . . But that’s all going to be dependent on restrictions at that time,” said Michal Moshkovich, one of the Social Coordinators of BHSS.
Recently, on Nov. 25, Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Kieran Moore shared that he expects COVID-19 cases to increase through the winter. As COVID-19 cases are predicted to rise as the cold weather settles in, both the PNB Society and BHSS are continuing to observe the situation closely and are considering planning in-person events for the end of the second semester.
With lots of ongoing uncertainty and lack of clarity in communication with the university, MSU services like the Women and Gender Equity Network are preparing to do last-minute planning as well.
Typically, in the winter, WGEN has two big campaign weeks in the second semester: Bodies are Dope, which usually runs in February, and Making Waves, which usually runs in March. The service’s first campaign of the year, [Trans]forming Mac, ran completely online from Nov. 20 to Nov. 25.
“[Planning] has been a little difficult based on how much information we receive . . . For now, the plan is to hopefully do stuff in person. But it might have to be really last-minute planning because we don’t know what the rules are, so that makes it a little difficult to plan in advance which we would ideally like because we want to be able to make sure we book proper rooms for social distancing and things like that,” said Neha Shaw, Director of WGEN.
It is also still unclear whether WGEN’s safe(r) spaces will operate in-person due to accessibility concerns. However, the service has received approval for in-person resource delivery, such as gender-affirming gear, and it is planned to open in the winter.
In general, the PNB society, BHSS and WGEN are all looking forward to at least some opportunities for in-person gatherings and events. They recognize online events feel intimidating and more formal, discouraging participation, compared to dropping by physical, live spaces or events that feel more casual and natural.
“It’s really hard to get people to come out to these online events and not feel intimidated versus in-person events . . . So far, we’ve hosted second-year welcome day and bonfires and the turnout was great because people are just excited to be back on campus and back in social environments where they can interact with people, even if it means following very, very rigid protocols for COVID,” said Moshkovich.
As much as all the societies and services miss the experiences of in-person gatherings, they also recognize the benefits of virtual events.
“With virtual events, there’s higher accessibility. You get things like captioning and people can engage to a level they are comfortable with. I know it can be more awkward to attend Zoom events than it can be in-person events, but at the same time, you can log onto an event and not turn your camera on, you can put your [fake] name [for anonymity] . . . you can type in the chat if that’s easier for you,” said Shaw.
At the end of the day, the main goal of student societies, services and clubs is to connect people together and foster community. Whether it continues to be facilitated virtually or back in person, they will all continue to work towards community building and enhancing the student life at McMaster University.
Infrequent meetings and course updates have left some students worried about the completion of their thesis projects
C/O Janko Ferlic
Some fourth-year undergraduate students in the McMaster University Department of Psychology, Behavior and Neuroscience feel that their thesis courses are currently lacking adequate communication from the program staff and faculty.
Whereas their first semester of thesis in fall 2020 consisted of frequent course-wide meetings and communications from the department, students like Rya Buckley, a fourth-year in biology and PNB and the Silhouette’s Arts & Culture Editor, have found this to significantly decrease this past semester.
“The original meetings were really helpful . . . But then we did stop having those meetings, because there wasn’t really anything [to do] and that was fine at first. [However,] I think we definitely got fewer and fewer meetings and I feel like the meetings became less timely,” said Buckley.
The lack of communication began to grow after reading week and then into March. Buckley explained how stressful this became, especially around times when deadlines were approaching and students had many questions.
“Communication definitely fell off slowly . . . and on top of it, we weren't getting the information [in] another form. We weren't getting regular emails. We have an Avenue page for [the] thesis course, but we don't get regular Avenue announcements or anything like that,” explained Buckley.
On top of the lack of communication, the students’ poster session was also cancelled in February.
“Given the organizational demands of this virtual conference, as well as student stress levels in the busy end-of-term period, it was decided not to hold a program-specific virtual event for thesis presentations this year. Rather, students have been encouraged to present their thesis research at the Annual Ontario Psychology Undergraduate Thesis Conference,” explained Bruce Milliken, chair of the PNB department in an email statement to the Sil.
The department of PNB is hosting their 51st annual Ontario Psychology Undergraduate Thesis Conference this year on June 4, 2021. All thesis students will have access to free registration and an opportunity to present their thesis research projects.
“Personally, I think it was . . . a little easier for the department [to cancel]. I think they were probably having difficulty planning or having the time to plan it. I don't really think students and potentially even supervisors or maybe some internal supervisors were consulted [on the decision],” explained Buckley.
Buckley also addressed the other reason for cancelling the poster session, which was to reduce the stress on students.
“[It] makes sense and [it] doesn't because this was an expected part of our course,” said Buckley.
Communication has not just been lacking with students, but in Buckley’s eyes with supervisors as well. The student explained how many do not receive updates and information about upcoming deadlines for their administrative tasks.
“When we have deadlines coming up, [my supervisor] doesn't necessarily get an email . . . There's been a couple of [times] where she's had to submit by a certain date, but hasn't received an email about that [in] a proper manner . . . Especially with supervisors who are super busy people, it can be difficult when they get this delayed [information],” said Buckley.
Buckley acknowledged the difficulty of facilitating a course in a pandemic and other internal department issues that may have made it harder.
“I feel like there's something there . . . I'm not sure if it's a PNB problem or a campus problem. . . I think it's so difficult in COVID to figure out what's normal because you have no good base,” said Buckley.
Proposed governmental changes aim to make sexual violence reporting at Ontario universities more survivor-centric
C/O Aditya Joshi
cw: sexual violence
The provincial government of Ontario is proposing changes to sexual violence and harassment policies at post-secondary institutions.
These changes are being made to Ontario regulation 131/16. This was implemented in January 2017 to establish a standard of sexual violence policies in colleges and universities.
The changes, proposed in January 2021, will ensure that students reporting sexual violence or harassment are not asked about their past sexual history. Furthermore, individuals reporting will not face consequences for violating the institution’s alcohol and drug policy.
The proposed amended regulation would require post-secondary institutions to update their sexual violence policies. There would be no additional costs or burden on the institution or students.
The changes, proposed in January 2021, will ensure that students reporting sexual violence or harassment are not asked about their past sexual history. Furthermore, individuals reporting will not face consequences for violating the institution’s alcohol and drug policy.
These changes aim to reduce the fear and stigma that survivors may face when reporting gender-based violence. The proposed changes come from policy recommendations made by the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance in Spring 2020.
The McMaster Students Union is a member of OUSA and contributed to the policy recommendations. The paper was co-authored by former MSU Vice-President (Education) Shemar Hackett and AVP Provincial and Federal Affairs Angel Huang. Many of the recommendations also mirrored similar suggestions made by the MSU Sexual Violence and Response policy.
The paper outlined the current challenges with gender-based and sexual violence prevention and response, including disclosure and reporting.
The disclosure and reporting section included an explanation of how institutional hierarchies make it more difficult for students to report sexual violence and harassment. The paper went on to explain the existing insufficient education and training for campus police, staff, faculty and student instructors.
OUSA explained that there is a lack of knowledge on how to respond to gender-based violence and support survivors in a trauma-informed and survivor-centric way.
Among other suggested resolutions, OUSA recommended strengthening legislative and regulatory frameworks such as Ontario regulation 131/16.
“We know that gender-based violence and sexual violence is not just a problem at institutions but a systemic problem across society and it certainly exists [on] campuses. At McMaster, but also across the provinces, we've heard from students and advocates and experts that the current policies are not survivor-centric and they're not friendly toward people to come forward [to report],” explained MSU VP Education Ryan Tse.
"At McMaster, but also across the provinces, we've heard from students and advocates and experts that the current policies are not survivor-centric and they're not friendly toward people to come forward [to report].”
MSU VP Education Ryan Tse
On March 16, McMaster University staff member, Christopher McAllister was arrested and charged with sexual assault. McAllister had ties to the department of Psychology, Neuroscience and Behaviour, which underwent a climate review in July 2020 for systemic and cultural issues linked to sexual violence and harassment.
Other allegations in the PNB department, such as the June 2020 charge on Scott Waters for two counts of sexual assault, are still being investigated by McMaster as of February 2021.
“I think this [proposed change] is important because hopefully, it will help to build a little more trust between the community and the institution but, more importantly, just make the policy safer and provide more accountability,” said Tse.
The proposed changes by the Ontario government will make the province one of the only in Canada to legally prevent survivors from having to answer irrelevant questions and be prosecuted by substance use policies.
"It's really important that students continue to speak out and speak up for these changes, through OUSA but through other means as well,” said Tse.
Tse explained that in the future, OUSA looks forward to continuing their advocacy for the other policy recommendations they made to ensure policies are more survivor-centric, evidence-based and informed from the lived experiences of survivors.
“This is a really good first step and it's nice to hear that the government is listening to the voices of students . . . It's really important that students continue to speak out and speak up for these changes, through OUSA but through other means as well,” said Tse.
Allegations highlight the need for systemic and cultural change around sexual violence and discrimination.
CW: sexual assault
The Department of Psychology, Neuroscience and Behaviour has now penalized five indiviudals, including at least four suspensions from campus and their positions, due to allegations under the Sexual Violence Policy and the Discrimination and Harassment Policy. Investigations first began in February, when news arose that an associate professor, Scott Watter, was suspended. In June, Watter was charged with two counts of sexual assault that occurred in 2017.
On July 28, David Farrar, president of McMaster University, released a letter stating that the school will be conducting an investigation into the department’s underlying cultural and systemic issues.
“McMaster will not tolerate any behaviour that threatens the security and safety of any member of our campus community. I recognize the courage of the complainants who have come forward, and I want to assure them that their allegations will be fully and fairly investigated and that appropriate action will be taken,” wrote Farrar.
While the university has stated they will be conducting an investigation, services around campus such as the McMaster Students Union’s Women and Gender Equity Network look to see what action will be taken to support survivors of sexual violence. WGEN is a service that offers a support group run by and catered to survivors. The content of the support groups are dictated by those within the group and it is entirely peer-run. By doing so, the service encourages an environment where survivors are given the chance to seek support in a way they desire.
Speaking to the Silhouette about improvements regarding the implementation of survivor-centric practices, Yimeng Wang, coordinator of WGEN, said that although the school may be doing its best to support survivors, policies by nature are inflexible. This can put limitations on how much emphasis is truly placed on survivors and their individual needs.
Wang believes that putting in place survivor-centric practices means giving autonomy to the person who has been harmed. Allowing survivors to ask for accountability from the person who has caused harm in a way that they desire is an important part of providing them with adequate support.
Wang believes that putting in place survivor-centric practices means giving autonomy to the person who has been harmed. Allowing survivors to ask for accountability from the person who has caused harm in a way that they desire is an important part of providing them with adequate support.
Wang also added that the limitations of policies does not excuse the harm that the school may create.
“Neither [the sexual violence policy and the discrimination and harassment policy] are policies sufficient for creating survivor-centric spaces — that comes from constantly practicing support and listening to survivors' needs. If harm has been caused in the past, forgiveness or changes in perspective are not owed to the institution that has caused that harm regardless of changes that have occurred since then,” said Wang.
Along with the ongoing investigation, protests to defund the police have been occurring across the nation, including within the city of Hamilton. At McMaster, many students have been calling for the termination of Glenn De Caire, McMaster’s head of parking and security services, due to concerns of discrimination and racial profiling.
In addition to discrimination issues, there are concerns from students around how security services responds to disclosures of sexual violence.
Wang added that the ways we address harm are often tied to punitive measures and security services.
“While some survivors may feel safe and want to take the approach of disclosing to Security Services and police, a lot of survivors have very rightful concerns and harmful associations and experiences with those systems, especially when we look at the specific people in power at Security Services at McMaster right now. There are ways in which those ties make it more harmful for survivors to disclose,” said Wang.
Advocating for the removal of campus police, a group known as De Caire Off Campus recently shared via social media regarding the harm that special constables have on survivors’ disclosure experience. The group noted that students have experienced accusations of lying as well as dissuasion to press charges. In addition, the group shared several alleged reported incidents of campus police abusing their power, making the service ill-equipped to handle sexual violence.
CW sexual violence
(THREAD) In light of instances of sexual violence becoming public, @McMasterU has put forward McMaster Security Services as a “resource.” What do students have to say about special constables’ approach to safety for survivors? 1/ https://t.co/RrBwulexI9
— De Caire Off Campus (@copfreecampus) August 11, 2020
As students begin their fall semester, the investigation into the department of psychology, neuroscience and behaviour progresses while groups such as De Caire Off Campus continue to call for the termination of the special constable program.
As the investigation unfolds, McMaster has suggested that those in need of support can reach out to resources such as:
How McMaster’s response to sexual violence on campus is failing
By: Maddie Brockbank, Contributor
CW: sexual violence, racism
On June 18, CBC News released an article that stated that Scott Watter, a McMaster University associate professor for the department of psychology, neuroscience and behaviour was formally charged with sexual assault. Since then, three McMaster faculty and one graduate student from the same department have been suspended and banned from campus, pending an investigation into ongoing allegations of sexual misconduct and violations of the sexual violence policy. On Aug. 6, a letter penned by the dean of science was shared by a number of local reporters on Twitter. It indicated that these times are “without precedent at the university” and emphasized the importance of the current investigation into the “culture” of the PNB department.
NEW@McMasterU suspends a graduate student and bans them from campus as the sexual harassment and misbehaviour scandal in Psychology, Neuroscience and Behaviour finds more incidents. The university has an outside law firm investigating. #HamOnt #cdnpse pic.twitter.com/s0uFxa5Ty2
— Joey Coleman (@JoeyColeman) August 6, 2020
I have found myself wondering how exactly McMaster University’s administration can continue to name these experiences as “unprecedented.” A quick dive into a recent history paints a significantly different picture.
In January 2019, the former coach of McMaster’s wrestling team was charged with sexual assault. The assault occurred during his coaching tenure, although details had not been released about whether the survivor was a current student at McMaster.
In March 2019, the Silhouette published an article delving into the culture of sexual violence within the Maroons, a student-led group that seeks to connect incoming undergraduate students with the McMaster Students Union and boost school spirit. The survivors that the Silhouette interviewed described being assaulted by fellow Maroons and how the MSU’s investigative processes failed to support them, as they were pushed out of potential solutions.
In 2019 alone, the vice-president of the Equity and Inclusion Office indicated that there were 90 reports of sexual violence on campus. Of those, 60 turned into official complaints and merely five moved forward into a formal investigation. Furthermore, the Sil has previously published on students’ experiences of being failed by the system of reporting, investigating and adjudicating experiences of sexual assault. The article describes their experience of a system that causes survivors to go through an emotionally (re)traumatizing process that enforces a type of gag order on survivors (under the guise of confidentiality) and fails to deploy a rape shield protection (that protects survivors from having their sexual history and past behaviour called into question in an effort to discredit their claims during an investigation). Moreover, this process puts survivors in a long period of limbo and at the end, does not always inform survivors of any sanctions placed on the perpetrator in the event that they are found to be in violation of the policy.
The numbers listed above could also be inaccurate and fail to represent the pervasiveness of sexual violence on campus. In the Student Voices on Sexual Violence survey, facilitated across Ontario postsecondary campuses in 2019, McMaster saw 63.7 per cent of respondents indicate that they had experienced sexual harassment on campus during their student tenure. Moreover, 75.7 per cent of McMaster respondents reported that they had witnessed sexual violence or an incident that had the potential to become sexual violence. Sexual violence continues to be one of the most underreported crimes in Canada, with merely five per cent of sexual assaults being reported to police and 83 per cent of survivors never disclosing their experience to a helping professional. It’s clear that the statistics we have available about this issue could only be the tip of the iceberg.
In response to the suspensions of PNB faculty, McMaster’s president, David Farrar, similarly released his own statement on behalf of the university. The letter emphasized the investigation’s exploration of the “culture” of the PNB department and urged students impacted to reach out to the Sexual Violence and Response Office, the Sexual Assault Centre of Hamilton and Area, the Student Wellness Centre and McMaster Security Services, among others.
A few things stand out here. Firstly, the mention of SACHA seems to omit the reality that, in 2019, McMaster cut a $9000 contract with SACHA to train Welcome Week reps despite the fact that SACHA played an integral role in ensuring McMaster even had a sexual assault policy. Secondly, the exclusion of the Women and Gender Equity Network, who have carried peer support for survivors at McMaster for several years, fails to acknowledge their contributions to ensuring the campus is a safer place for survivors. Lastly, the mention of Security Services reads as quite inconsiderate in the wake of mounting student pressure for McMaster to terminate its contract with head of security, Glenn De Caire, for his stance on racial profiling practices, such as carding, and connections to Hamilton Police Services (where 70 per cent of sexual assault cases were improperly labelled as “unfounded” by HPS in 2019).
It’s troubling when McMaster’s administration continues to emphasize that these times are “unprecedented” and that the solution is to merely examine the “culture” of a singular department. Sexual violence is, frankly, an issue impacting every facet of campus.
It’s troubling when McMaster’s administration continues to emphasize that these times are “unprecedented” and that the solution is to merely examine the “culture” of a singular department. Sexual violence is, frankly, an issue impacting every facet of campus.
The experiences discussed above — and my own — speak to this reality. In 2018, I booked a meeting with the then-director of athletics, Glen Grunwald, about how the Marauders could support sexual violence prevention efforts by attending my event on engaging men in anti-violence efforts. Grunwald never showed for the meeting. Another representative in the department promised me that athletics would support the event by getting student-athletes to attend. Former football coach, Greg Knox, promised the whole football team would attend. Countless emails to other coaches were left without replies and by the day of the event, zero representatives of McMaster Athletics showed up.
While McMaster Athletics is under its own investigation into student-athletes’ experiences of anti-Black racism, it feels pertinent to note that these instances are not isolated and are not “without precedent.” Issues of racism and sexual violence are interdependent; they rely on each other to function and are borne from the same system that enables marginalization of and violence against students to occur. In other words, racism enables violence to happen and it affects marginalized students disproportionately. When the system or personnel responsible for redressing instances of violence face allegations of racism themselves, it allows a cycle of violence to continue.
“We still have work to do” LOL. Y’all never started shit to begin with. Start by firing Mark Alfano. How about that? I’ve experienced a lot of systemic racism during my time at McMaster. Myself and other black student athletes brought it up to Mark & Glen and they brushed us off. https://t.co/W2F37z8sCL
— Fab (@Fabloescoo) June 28, 2020
McMaster’s continued emphasis on siloing these issues and depicting them as “breaking news” means that they fail to acknowledge that these experiences are the lived reality of generations of students. Launching yet another (reactive and redundant) investigation into the “culture” of individual parts of campus life, again, discredits the countless narratives provided by students about their experiences of violence and marginalization. Why aren’t their stories enough proof? Why is McMaster responding in this way now, when this isn’t the first time these things have come up? What is the end goal of these investigations and will anything change?
Sexual violence in the PNB department, among many other issues affecting McMaster’s campus, is symptomatic of a much larger issue at the university and in the broader Hamilton community.
Sexual violence in the PNB department, among many other issues affecting McMaster’s campus, is symptomatic of a much larger issue at the university and in the broader Hamilton community. When one in four women will experience sexual violence during their time at a postsecondary institution, it is not unprecedented or isolated. When Hamilton reports the highest hate crime rate per capita in Canada, it is not unprecedented or isolated. When a number of current and former Black, Indigenous and racialized students and student-athletes disclose years of racism and abuse at the university, it is not unprecedented or isolated.
When McMaster continues to treat these times as “without precedent” and reflective of singular facets of campus, it continues to fail students and invalidate their long-standing experiences of these issues.
Abhi Mukherjee
The Silhouette
Jillian O’Connor from McMaster's department of psychology, neurosciences and behaviour found that men with lower pitched, masculine voices were more desirable to women. However, women considered these men to be faithful to them for only short-term relationships. generic for viagra O’Connor does her research in the Voice Research lab. It has taken two years for her to come up with her findings.
O’Connor’s paper about how men’s voices influence women’s perception of them has allowed her to find two perceptions that women have about men: attractiveness and infidelity. Women preferred lower pitched men’s voices for short-term relationships/one night stands. Women think that men with lower pitched voices are unfaithful for a romantic relationship.
“But this is what women think of men,” said O’Connor. “Men who are really attractive with these lower pitched voices don’t really have to be faithful in the long-term. They may be more successful if they follow a shot-term mating strategy, one where they don’t commit. So this is the case where women prefer men with lower pitched voices for short-term relationships but that is only if they think that they will not be faithful.”
She stated that “[women] know when men try to lower their voices to sound more attractive, it doesn’t work. Women don’t think that it is more attractive than their natural speaking voice,” which was a result of some prior research that O’Connor and her team had done. If in everyday life men start using a deeper voice, women will not find them attractive, suggesting that men cannot fake their voices to sound attractive because women have a natural way of sensing that.
“We have other senses, so when we see someone that we are attracted to, we take a lot of things into consideration like how they look, how they sound, how they smell, it’s a big picture,” said O’Connor, who wanted to clarify that voice is not the only quality that is used to assess human attraction. O’Connor takes a special interest in human sexual behaviour or behaviours within relationships which happens to be the motivation behind her research.
”Men with lower pitched voices have higher testosterone and hence they are more likely to cheat. But we don’t know that yet and that is something we would like to test in the future,” said O’Connor.
She said that this milestone of a finding would act as a stepping stone in addressing the bigger issue, that is how women choose their mates and how voices evolved to signal underlying qualities when it comes to romantic relationships. She hopes to figure out, in the future, if a man’s voice is an honest cue to his sexual behaviour or if women are off base on their deduction about a man’s sexual behaviour.
