|
ANNUAL REPORT TRENT UNIVERSITY OFFICE OF THE HUMAN RIGHTS ADVISOR 1996-1997 INTRODUCTION The following is a report on the activities of Trent University's Human Rights Office for the 1996-1997 academic year. This report reflects the work of the Human Rights Advisor from May 1, 1996 to May 1, 1997. The purpose of this document is to provide an overview of the activities of the Human Rights Office, and to offer a statistical report on discrimination and harassment requests brought to my attention as Trent's Human Rights Advisor. In addition, I have provided my observations and some objectives for the 1997-1998 academic year. THE HUMAN RIGHTS OFFICE As mandated by the Policy on Discrimination and Harassment, the Human Rights Advisor reports directly to the President of the university, and is responsible for providing advice or assistance to any member of the Trent community who wishes to seek an informal resolution of an incident of discrimination or harassment. In addition, as stated in the Policy, the Advisor is:
In July, 1996, the Human Rights Office moved to LEC N130, an office graciously relinquished by Professor Teo Noriega. This office has provided the privacy and confidentiality necessary for staff, faculty and students who wish to meet with me. CONFIDENTIALITY Any person who discusses a human rights matter with me is assured of complete confidentiality, with two exceptions: in the event that legal proceedings are initiated at some future point, disclosure could be required, and, should the information provided lead me to believe that people could be at risk of physical harm, at least partial disclosure would be essential. All persons with whom I discuss a human rights concern are informed of this commitment to confidentiality and its limitations. REQUESTS FOR ADVICE OR ASSISTANCE Between May 1, 1996, and May 1, 1997, there were a total of 42 requests for advice or assistance, compared to 46 in the previous year. Please refer to Tables I-VI in Appendix II for a statistical summary of these requests. Appendix III contains corresponding tables from last year's statistical report, included for comparative purposes. Although eleven of the forty-two incidents of discrimination or harassment were alleged to have been accompanied by violence or threats of violence, this number is down significantly from last year, when there were twenty-one reported incidents alleged to have been violent. I remain concerned about the number of violent incidents reported however, and recognize that the number of incidents reported to me does not reflect the total number of violent incidents occurring at Trent. A review of reports from Trent Security and discussions with Dawn Knapton of Counselling Services reveal that, as would be expected, many of the incidents reported to these departments have not been brought to my attention by the parties involved. In addition, there were a number of incidents of violence reported to me by third parties (five), which do not form part of my statistics. Accompanying this reduction in the number of violent incidents reported, is a reduction in the allegations of sexual harassment, from twenty-one in the previous year, to thirteen in this reporting period. Requests for advice or assistance on the basis of racial discrimination increased slightly, as did requests on the basis of disability. In addition to requests for advice or assistance, I received more than thirty reports by third parties about alleged incidents of discrimination and harassment. These incidents are not included in the statistical summary. As in the previous reporting period, I have received a number of visits from people whose concerns, though legitimate, fall outside the mandate of the Human Rights Office. Frequently, these are human resources issues, and these people have been referred to their department heads or Human Resources. In addition to these visits, I often receive calls or am visited by people who are experiencing a crisis in their lives, and are not sure where to go. I have made several referrals to the Employee Assistance Plan, and to Counselling Services, both in circumstances where the issues fall outside my jurisdiction, and when I am dealing with an actual human rights concern. In addition, in a number of cases, I have found support for people from service providers in the Peterborough community. STUDENT HUMAN RIGHTS ADVOCATES In March, 1996, six students were selected and hired as Student Human Rights Advocates for the 1996-1997 academic year. These students, who are responsible to the Human Rights Advisor, received a modest honorarium for their work. The Advocates have been hired to meet a role contemplated by the Policy, which states: "The human rights advisor will upon request make available at any stage and to either party a list of experienced and interested people who are able to provide assistance." This is a role assumed frequently by union representatives on behalf of unionized faculty and staff members who are engaged in the Policy process. Assistance may also be sought from the community at large at the request of any party to a human rights matter. The Advocates were provided general training in advocacy in March 1996, and in June 1996, were provided with two days' rigorous training in issues such as confidentiality, substantive human rights law and the Policy on Discrimination and Harassment, professionalism, conflict resolution, interviewing skills and ethical issues arising from their work. One of the Advocates' most important roles in the 1996-97 academic year was providing peer education in human rights issues and responsibilities. The Advocates also played an important role in accompanying students to my office, in providing information to students who wanted to learn more about the Policy on Discrimination and Harassment, and in setting priorities for the upcoming year. Two of these Advocates will be joined by four new Advocates for the 1997-98 Academic year. The four new advocates will be David Hudson, Karen Kawawada, Holly Morrison and Leslie Cochran, who join Kerry Colpitts and Pheona Arnott, who are assuming responsibilities as Advocates for their second year. FORMAL COMPLAINTS The Policy provides that formal complaints may be submitted to the Dean or the Vice President of Administration and University Services (now John Earnshaw in his capacity as Vice President of Administration). This process may be initiated at any point within the time lines provided by the Policy, without recourse to the Human Rights Office, or by either party currently engaged in an informal process. No formal complaints were initiated during this reporting period. ADDITIONAL CONSULTATIONS Requests from faculty, staff and administrators for information or advice on how to address human rights related problems themselves, and on the applicability of the Policy on Discrimination or Harassment to various aspects of their work, were frequent and increased significantly from last year. I am pleased to respond to these type of requests, and encourage members of the university community to continue to consult with me in this manner. There were approximately sixty of these types of requests for information during this reporting period. Representatives of student organizations also frequently requested feedback on planned extra-academic activities and documents or publications related to their respective mandates. THE HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE The Human Rights Committee, an advisory committee to the President, has met frequently during the academic year. The Committee, which was chaired by Heather Avery this year, is comprised of representatives from the Colleges, the Trent Central Student Association, TUFA, CUPE, the Non-Union Group of employees and the Graduate Students Association. OPSEU participated in the work of the Committee with the mandate to promote change in the Policy on Discrimination and Harassment. The President and the Human Rights Advisor sit as ex-officio members. In the autumn of 1996, after sixteen months as Trent's Human Rights Advisor, I expressed concerns that I had about the Policy on Discrimination and Harassment to then President Leonard Conolly. His recommendation was, that given that one of the Human Rights Committee's terms of reference is, among others, to "monitor the functioning of the Policy on Discrimination and Harassment and Advise the President accordingly", the most appropriate place to raise these concerns would be in the forum of the constituency-based Committee (please see Appendix IV for the terms of reference of the Human Rights Committee). The Human Rights Committee decided that a starting point for examining the Policy would be a document I had prepared for President Conolly, which outlined my concerns. This document was provided to the Human Rights Committee with the understanding that it was a preliminary document, that it represented my observations only, and that it was being provided as a tool for initiating discussion about policy reform. It was fully appreciated by the Committee members that the Policy forms part of the TUFA Collective Agreement, and that no changes could be initiated without respecting this fact. It was also accepted that any Policy review would be a long process, and that a contentious, potentially divisive approach to reform would not be in the interests of any members of the Trent Community. The Committee began its work by discussing whether the Policy in its current form raises any issues about Trent's legal obligations to abide by the Ontario Human Rights Code. To date, no conclusions have been reached on this matter. Among others, the Human Rights Committee also addressed issues such as human rights education initiatives and continued efforts to establish a method of assessing incidents of violence, a process which was initiated by the previous year's Committee. ACT FOR - HUMAN RIGHTS THEATRE For the third year in a row, students worked together as the theatre troupe "ACT FOR" to present a human rights theatre production. For the second year, the production was directed by Trent Alumnus Brian Mitolo. Commencing in September, 1996, the students, most of whom had no previous acting experience, produced and wrote a number of segments based on their personal experiences. Once again the students and Mr. Mitolo are to be commended for the dedication to the final performances and the issues raised by the play. Performances were held in February, 1997, and addressed a variety of human rights issues arising from the students' past and current experiences. Attendance at the production, presented at four colleges, was varied in numbers. In total, approximately 150 students chose to see ACT FOR, numbers which were lower than the previous year. In spite of these low numbers however, all agreed that it was a valuable experience for both participants and audience members. The ACT FOR model will not be followed this year. Student-led initiatives in human rights awareness will be sponsored by the Human Rights Office however, and notice about the type of activities that will be supported will be provided by the end of September, 1997. INFORMATION SESSIONS, TRAINING AND EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES In addition to the events detailed in this report, a number of activities have been undertaken in order to coordinate my work with other university services, and to provide information about the Policy on Discrimination and Harassment and human rights issues relevant to the Trent Community. Among them:
In addition to these and other sessions at Trent, at the request of various community groups and one high school, I have made human rights presentations in the community at large. TRENT SECURITY My close work with Trent Security has continued in this past year. This work has included consultation about problems arising from specific cases, collaboration on initiatives of mutual responsibility, and discussion about preventative strategies for improving the security of members of the Trent Community. Their ongoing support and cooperation continues to be essential and greatly appreciated. OBSERVATIONS One of the most significant changes in my work during this reporting period, was the number of cases which have required my extensive involvement as mediator, facilitator or conciliator (thirteen as opposed to three in the previous year). These cases have often involved complex issues, have required research and repeated meetings with each party, have frequently had significant implications for one or both party's ability to continue working or studying at Trent, or have required that a university administrator and I play an central role in seeing the matter through to resolution. Some of these cases have required as many as ten meetings to arrive at a resolution acceptable to both parties. In spite of the fact that the road to resolution of some of these matters is rather arduous, for the most part, both parties have usually been committed to using the informal process in order to address the issues. Appointments related specifically to requests for advice or assistance as reported in Appendix II, numbered 114, or an average of about 2.7 visits per request. Many issues are resolved after an hour or two of consultation, though some have required as many as twenty hours of consultation with the parties separately and together, plus significant commitments of time researching issues and drafting mediated agreements. Requests for assistance arising from an allegation of discrimination on the basis of disability have usually been the most complex and have required the largest commitment of time, as accommodation requirements must be tailored to the disability and the workplace or academic environment. These cases have required consultation with medical professionals, Human Resources and of course both parties, as well as research on the legal accommodation obligations of the university. It is often difficult to conclude these cases within the time lines prescribed by the Policy. Many of the students who make appointments to see me are distressed by the events that have brought them to my office, and in my opinion are not capable of pursuing the issue, which often means meeting with the person who harassed them, without first getting support. Close work with Dawn Knapton, head of Counselling Services, has been essential and invaluable. In these cases it is again often difficult to resolve a matter within the time limits prescribed by the Policy on Discrimination and Harassment. The majority of persons requesting advice or assistance express concern about the consequences of initiating the process for the person about whom the request has been made. With the exception of those cases in which there were assaults or threats of assaults, no person initiating the request has expressed any desire that there be punitive consequences for the subject of the request. The majority of people whom I see in my office state that they simply want the offending behaviour to stop, and express a desire to get on with their work or studies. Most of the people who initiate requests for advice or assistance also express a desire to solve the matter on their own, and come to me for advice on how to proceed, or to determine whether the behaviour, if proven to have occurred, would be in violation of the Policy on Discrimination and Harassment. For the most part, people about whom the requests for assistance or advice have been made have been surprised to learn to learn that their behaviour has caused concern to the other party, and are anxious to find a solution to the matter. Often there is agreement that a certain behaviour has taken place, but no knowledge that the behaviour constitutes discrimination or harassment, nor awareness about the implications their behaviour has had for the person who initiated the request. As reported in Appendix II, the majority of human rights concerns brought to my attention fall into the category of discrimination, rather than harassment. Although harassment is clearly defined by the Policy, discrimination is defined neither by the Policy nor specifically by the Ontario Human Rights Code. In order to determine whether an alleged behaviour constitutes discrimination, therefore, I have used human rights case law and Ontario Human Rights Commission guidelines as sources for standards to which Trent, as a service provider, is expected to adhere. I would like to think that the increased number of reports of discrimination on the basis of race and disability, and increased number of requests made about the actions of faculty members, are a result of greater awareness of my office and the range of dispute settlement mechanisms that it offers. I would also like to think that the number of allegations of sexual harassment and reports of violent incidents have decreased due to increased human rights education among the students, and the presence of the Student Human Rights Advocates. This is of course, no more than speculation, and I have not worked at Trent long enough to be able to assess patterns of behaviour relative to education initiatives. Variations in numbers and categories of allegations of discrimination and harassment may result from a number of factors. For example, I found that prior and subsequent to the faculty strike, inquiries to my office increased dramatically. It appeared that people's level of stress had increased, and they were less able to resolve minor disputes on their own. In addition, it seemed that this stress contributed to increased animosity among co-workers and students, at least for the short term. I received a large number of initial calls during this period that were never followed up by a visit to my office, and as the December break approached, the calls to the Human Rights Office dissipated. October, November, February and March were once again the busiest months with respect to requests for advice or assistance. In general, I am encouraged by the extent to which people have chosen the informal process to resolve disputes, and by the reduced number of more serious allegations. Hopefully, a stable number of reports of human rights concerns over the first few years of the Policy's existence would reflect an increased number of reports arising from awareness of the Human rights office, balanced by a decreased incidence of discrimination and harassment resulting from education initiatives. It is however, too early in the history of the Human Rights Office to make any accurate assessments bout trends in this regard. THE 1997 - 1998 ACADEMIC YEAR In the autumn of 1997, I will provide sessions for staff and faculty members who are interested in providing support and representation to members of their sectors who have human rights concerns. I hope that the Non Union Group of Employees will in particular benefit from this programme, as they lack access to union representation when they are engaged in the Policy process. It is expected that the Student Human Rights Advocates will play a greater role in increasing awareness about the responsibilities that their peers have to respect the rights of members of their community. I will also encourage activities of a broader scope for occasions such as International Human Rights Day, International Day for the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination, International Women's Day, and other dates of the year marking human rights milestones and aspirations. I remain committed to addressing issues of violence at Trent. This is not because I believe that Trent has a greater number of incidents of violence than other universities, but because I refuse to accept that violent incidents are an inevitable part of living in a university community, and because I believe that we have the opportunity and the responsibility to contribute to a more just and safer society as we send young adults and future leaders into the world. I will continue to work closely with Special Needs, Counselling Services, Trent Security and the Walk Home Programme, among other departments, and hope to develop collaborative initiatives with these sectors and many student-run organizations. CONCLUSION After two years as Human Rights Advisor at Trent, I remain convinced that the majority of people who are identified as being responsible for discrimination or harassment are unaware that their behaviour causes distress to the people who have initiated requests for advice or assistance. Necessarily, however, human rights law and policy focusses on the consequences of behaviour, rather than the intent, and it is only through increased awareness about the very real limits to human potential that arise out of discrimination and harassment that genuine equality can be realized. Trent University has many strengths that can contribute to a substantive equality for all members of the community. The college and donning systems, the academic advisory programme and Trent's small size are factors which I intend to continue to employ to facilitate a climate of mutual respect and understanding. As both the Human Rights Advisor and a Trent alumna, I am optimistic about Trent University's future, and look forward to the approaching year.
TRENT UNIVERSITY POPULATION BY SECTOR AND GENDER 1996-1997 ACADEMIC YEAR
+ Numbers for part-time faculty were not available at the time of writing ++ Employee groups included: OPSEU, exempt, exempt academic and research. TRENT UNIVERSITY OFFICE OF THE HUMAN RIGHTS ADVISOR REQUESTS FOR ADVICE OR ASSISTANCE 1996-1997
TABLE II BY PROHIBITED GROUNDS 1996-1997
TABLE III BY SECTOR AND GENDER 1996-1997
TABLE IV BY SECTOR AND GENDER 1996-1997
TABLE V OF REQUESTS FOR ADVICE OR ASSISTANCE, 1996-1997
APPENDIX III HUMAN RIGHTS OFFICE REQUESTS FOR ADVICE OR ASSISTANCE: JUNE, 1995 - MARCH, 1996 TABLE I
TABLE II BY NATURE OF RESOLUTION, 1995-1996
TABLE III BY PROHIBITED GROUND, 1995-1996
** Note that one complainant alleged incidents of both discrimination and harassment, thus bringing the total in this table to 47 complaints. TABLE IV BY SECTOR AND GENDER, 1995-1996
APPENDIX IV FEBRUARY 26, 1996 TERMS OF REFERENCE: A STANDING PRESIDENTIAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE Mandate The Human Rights Committee will work with the President and the Human Rights Advisor to promote human rights within the Trent University Community. Specifically, the Committee will: Develop human rights education objectives and events for the university community, including information sessions for supervisory and administrative officers; Ensure that all groups, including staff, faculty, students and librarians, receive adequate information about their rights and responsibilities under the Trent University Policy on Discrimination and Harassment; Identify particular types of discrimination or harassment that occur in the Trent community to develop preventative strategies; Monitor the functioning of the Policy on Discrimination and Harassment and Advise the President accordingly; Respond as a committee to concerns or questions raised by the University Community, where appropriate. MEMBERSHIP Voting Membership will consist of one representative from each of the following:
President and the Human Rights Advisor sit as non voting members ex officio. Observers will be welcome to attend Committee Meetings RESOLUTION CODES:
* Complainant stated that harassment was accompanied by violence (assault) or threat of violence. # Intervention of Department/College Head or Trent Security requested. + City Police contacted. NOTE: "students" include full and part time students; "faculty" includes full and part time faculty and teaching assistants, "staff", includes full and part time staff and Dons. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Maintained by the Communications Department
Last updated: October 10, 1997