The problem right now, summarizes Radia Sentissi, general secretary of the Federation of Student Unions at the University of Montreal (FAÉCUM), is that an employee can commit sexual violence for the first time, wait a year or two, and then it disappears his disciplinary record!
If the file is deleted every year, it is impossible to escalate the sanctions against a person who continues to sexually harass or touch students, adds Alexandre Guimond, Director General of the Masters Student Group, Diploma and Doctor of the University of Sherbrooke (REMDUS) .
Such a case has not been identified or reported at the moment, specifies Alexandre Guimond, but let’s not wait before acting! he is arguing.
While the issue of sexual misconduct cases in schools has been the subject of much debate recently, student leaders now want more to be done to prevent similar cases in higher education. It is important that the administrative loopholes that allow such a situation to be closed quickly, we can read in this letter.
“A second offense must not go unpunished. […] The current situation poses a significant risk to the safety of the entire university community. It is your responsibility, Ms. Déry, to rectify the situation. »
— A quote from an excerpt from the open letter
Clauses that conflict with the law
The situation is all the more problematic, according to the co-signers of this open letter, because the existence of these clauses prevents the proper application of one of the articles of the Prevention and Combating Sexual Violence in Higher Education Act, which stipulates that sanctions must take into account the repetition of sexual offenses.
The report on the implementation of this law, presented earlier this year, five years after its entry into force, well defines and acknowledges the problem in question. The ministry is closely monitoring this issue and will continue efforts to raise awareness of this issue among higher education networks currently addressing the issue, it said.
Radia Sentissi, general secretary of FAÉCUM, points out that her student union has been trying for several years to remove sexual violence from the amnesty clauses of collective agreements for university staff, but so far without success. maker.
Photo: Voltaic Agency
However, no recommendation will be made to correct the situation, regrets Radia Sentissi. We’re pretty disappointed with that.
Government inaction denounced
Our request is simple, emphasizes Radia Sentissi: we want the Minister of Higher Education to act and ban the inclusion of sexual violence. [dans les] amnesty clauses.
The co-signers of the open letter denounce the lack of determination of elected officials in this file. You and your teams, in turn, are blamed for the problem by suggesting that its resolution would ultimately depend on the negotiations prior to the adoption of these collective agreements at individual provincial plants.
However, in their opinion, the step-by-step solution is not the right way. Nobody wants to interfere in these files, explains Alexandre Guimond, because even if nobody wants to defend the aggressors, these are clauses that frame the privileges granted to workers.
At the Université de Montréal, this file is also part of the ongoing collective agreement negotiations with the teaching staff unions.
The spokeswoman for the university confirms that the deletion of amnesty clauses from collective agreements is one of the demands of employers, but does not want to comment further on this for the time being.
For its part, the Québec National Association of Teachers (FNEEQ-CSN) says it is concerned about preventing and combating sexual violence in education and higher education and is continuing its reflections on amnesty clauses in collective agreements under negotiation.
The Quebec Federation of University Professors (FQPPU) indicates that it cannot comment on this file at this time, as it has not had the opportunity to discuss it together as the issue has not been raised [son] attention of members.
Support from a victim defense organization
The Quebec Regrouping of centers for Assistance and the fight against sexual attack (RQCALACS) supports this student demand.
These clauses can harm the victims, criticizes RQCALACS communications chief Justine Chénier. She fears that the possible use of these amnesty clauses could overprotect attackers.
It is as if the measures taken have disappeared and people who committed sexual violence have been forgiven, she summarizes. And that has no place at all!
Violence of a sexual nature, which includes instances of misconduct as well as harassment or sexual assault, is not explicitly mentioned in these clauses but is covered like any other type of disciplinary offence. According to Justine Chénier, the shoe pinches here.
“It boils down to confusing fairly mundane professional misconduct with violence of a sexual nature. It downplays sexual violence! »
– A quote from Justine Chénier, communications director for the Quebec Association of Sexual Assault Centers (RQCALACS)
More than a third of members of the university community experience an act of sexual violence at the hands of someone close to the university during their time in this university environment, according to the Sexuality, Safety and Interactions in the University Environment study, produced in 2017.