April 2015
HALIFAX — Male
dentistry students at Dalhousie University who participated in a Facebook page
that contained sexually violent content about female classmates have expressed
remorse in an open letter to the community.
The university in
Halifax posted a joint statement dated Sunday by 29 members of the fourth-year
dentistry class on its website, with the unidentified students who wrote what is
described as an open letter saying they wanted to comment before an academic
standards committee rules on what discipline will be applied.
The members of the
class who agreed to the statement are participating in a restorative justice
process the university started after the Facebook site’s contents became public.
The letter says 12
male students who participated in the Facebook site believe their actions were
“hurtful, painful and wrong,” and that they harmed their classmates, patients,
the university, their profession and the public.
“Through the restorative justice process
we are doing the work required to be sorry — to confront the harms we have
caused, to accept our responsibility, to figure out what is needed of us to make
things right, and to gain the knowledge, skills and capacities to be trusted
health-care professionals,” the men say in the letter.
“The need for change
in ourselves became very clear through deep reflection on our failures and
harmful actions.”
According
to the
CBC, members
of the
Facebook group voted on which woman
they’d like to have “hate” sex with and joked about using chloroform on women.
The CBC said in another post, a woman is shown in a bikini with a caption that
says, “Bang until stress is relieved or unconscious (girl).”
There are three
parts to the letter posted on the university website. One is written by the men
in the class, a second section by the women and a third written by all the
participants in the restorative justice process.
The response from
six women who were the target of the posts on Facebook says what was said was
harmful and reflected “a broader culture” within the university and society.
But the six women
say they don’t agree with a university decision to segregate the men from their
classmates and keep them out of clinical practice.
That decision
fragmented and alienated the class at a time when they were particularly in need
of support from their classmates, the women say, adding that they feel safe with
the 12 members of the Facebook group.
“Many have asserted
that all women feel unsafe, but this is not the case for us — we feel safe with
the members of the Facebook group involved in this restorative process,” the
women say in the letter.
They describe
themselves as strong and professional women who are capable of speaking for
themselves in the case.
“The restorative
process has provided a very important space for us to engage safely and
respectfully with our colleagues and others to convey our perspectives and
needs.”
The men say they
have participated in a series of workshops to consider what they wrote and how
to repair the damage since the restorative justice process started in December.
They have met at
least once a week as a group with the organizers of the restorative justice
process and have also had individual meetings to consider what actions would
help make amends, they wrote. The sessions have included educational workshops
from experts in sexualized violence, psychology and counselling, law and human
rights, religion and conflict resolution.
The men say they
have also participated in discussions on misogyny.
Text of statement
issued by members of a dentistry class at Dalhousie University
Below is the
full-text of an open statement from the participants in Dalhousie University’s
restorative justice process related to Facebook group posts made about females
members of the fourth-year dentistry class at the school:
We, the 29 members
of the class of DDS2015 participating in the restorative justice process, offer
this public update to share some information about the process and our
experience so far. This statement reflects our collective experience and
sentiments. It is divided in order to offer some reflections directly from the
members of the Facebook group engaged in our process, from the directly impacted
women within the restorative justice process, and from the entire participant
group. Our process includes 12 members of the DDS2015 Facebook group, six women
named in the Facebook posts made public, and 11 women and men from the directly
affected class of DDS2015.
We are providing
this statement at this time because we anticipate an update from the Academic
Standards Class Committee (ASCC). The ASCC has been kept informed of the work
within the restorative process aimed at remediating behaviour and addressing the
harms related to the incident. We want to share some of this information with
the broader community and the public so that they are able to understand our
perspectives and experience within the process as well.
From the Members of
the DDS2015 Facebook Group in the Restorative Justice Process
From the beginning
of this process in December we felt incredibly remorseful and took ownership of
what we did (individually and collectively). Our conduct as members of the
Facebook group was hurtful, painful, and wrong. It has impacted our classmates,
friends, families, faculty, staff, patients, the university community, the
profession and the public. Our actions have led to significant consequences for
us, but also for others. Many of the consequences we have experienced both
personally and professionally are a natural result of our actions and we own
those consequences. Our actions have also had profound consequences for others
that we own with deep regret. We know that our conduct has damaged trust in many
important relationships. We know that we must work to earn back this trust.
Since December we have been engaged in the intensive and difficult
self-reflection and development required to start the process of earning back
the trust of our colleagues, families, professors, the university community, the
profession and the public. This will take time but we will work each day to
model the personal and professional core values to which we are committed and
that will guide us now and in the future. We hope one day to regain the trust of
those we have harmed and impacted.
Our silence has been
interpreted by some as cowardice — as if we are hiding from our
responsibilities. It has been very tempting to satisfy calls for us to say we
are sorry. Doing so would have made us feel better, but it would have been
self-serving if not based upon the hard work necessary to gain the depth of
understanding required for meaningful and sincere apology. We are committed to
continue to work through the restorative process to develop this understanding.
We know much more than saying ‘sorry’ is required. We are doing the hard work to
figure out how to truly be sorry. We owe meaningful apologies to those we have
impacted most directly first.
Through the process
we have had the opportunity to offer some of these apologies already and they
have been accepted. We continue to work to be worthy of their acceptance. Only
after we have done more of this work would we be ready to offer broader
apologies to the community and the public. Through the restorative justice
process we are doing the work required to be sorry — to confront the harms we
have caused, to accept our responsibility, to figure out what is needed of us to
make things right, and to gain the knowledge, skills and capacities to be
trusted health-care professionals. This is difficult and time consuming work –
and it should be. We are committed to seeing this through. The process has
engaged individuals from the faculty, university, the profession and the public.
Involvement from these groups will continue and expand as the process moves to
further examine the broader circumstances, causes and consequences of this
situation. We have already learned much about ourselves, the consequences of our
actions, and our contribution to the culture and climate within the faculty and
the university. Our work has included: providing detailed accounts of our
participation in the Facebook group and events following its discovery as part
of the investigation; regular contact with the restorative facilitators since
December (at a minimum weekly, in many cases daily); participation in regular
and ongoing meetings with facilitators individually, in small groups and with
the entire group to explore harms and impacts, accept responsibility and
consider what actions are necessary to make amends. Sessions have included
educational workshops and training modules supported by experts in the fields of
public safety and security, sexualized and gendered violence and trauma,
psychology and counselling, law and human rights, religion, and conflict
resolution. In addition, we have taken specific in depth educational workshops
to better understand misogyny and rape culture and bystander intervention.
We do not know what
the outcomes of the process will be because this work is still underway. We know
that we cannot go back and undo what has happened, but we are committed to
making this experience matter – to contribute to the change that is needed. The
need for change in ourselves became very clear through deep reflection on our
failures and harmful actions. We also recognize that we have an opportunity and
responsibility to contribute to necessary changes in the climate and culture
within our faculty, the university community and in the profession we aspire to
be a part of one day. We are committed to giving back and making a positive
contribution to our communities. We have been given the opportunity, through
this restorative justice process, to confront what we have done, the harm it has
caused, and to learn what we need to do to become the trusted professionals we
want to be. We are very grateful for the commitment of time, expertise and
support that has made this possible. We will endeavour to be worthy of this
opportunity and to contribute back to the community in equal measure.
From the Women of
the Class of DDS2015 involved in the Restorative Justice Process
As women directly
impacted by the Facebook posts released to the media, we decided to participate
in this restorative justice process as a way to address the harmful conduct
revealed by the posts and our experiences of the broader culture they reflect
within our faculty, university and society. We respect that everyone who has
been directly impacted by this situation deserves equal opportunity to proceed
in a way in which they are comfortable. We wish to be accorded the same respect
for this justice path we have chosen. We made this choice informed of all of the
options available to us and came to our decision independently and without
coercion. We have exercised restraint in discussing our perspective in the media
but, to be clear, we do not feel that the coverage on social and mainstream
media has been representative of our unique or common experiences. Many people
(some with good intentions) have spoken about us and in the process often
attempted to speak for us in ways that we have experienced as harmful, silencing
and re-traumatizing. Our perspective and decision to proceed through this
process has often not been honoured or trusted but dismissed or criticized based
on the decisions or perspectives of others. We are strong, well-educated
professional women with words of our own to explain what we are going through
and how we want to proceed. We have chosen individually and collectively to use
our words carefully and selectively in public so as not to add fuel to the media
fire which has been extremely hurtful to all of us. Some of the political
tactics and debates surrounding this situation have made it challenging to
proceed with a restorative justice process in the way we wished and these
outside factors have caused renewed harms. At times, the volume of public
opinion has drowned out our voices on what we need and want in this situation.
We feel, for example, that our views were not central to the decision making
process to segregate members of our class known to be involved in the Facebook
posts. While this decision may have satisfied others’ needs or interests, it has
done nothing for us in terms of instilling a sense of safety or respect.
Instead, it fragmented and alienated us at a time when we were particularly in
need of support from our class community. Many have asserted that all women feel
unsafe, but this is not the case for us – we feel safe with the members of the
Facebook group involved in this restorative process.
The restorative
process has provided a very important space for us to engage safely and
respectfully with our colleagues and others to convey our perspectives and
needs. The process allows us to be involved in a manner that both respects and
values our unique perspectives and the level of commitment and connection we
desire. Additionally, it allows us to address underlying systemic and
institutional issues influencing the climate and culture in which we live and
learn. We want this process to make a significant contribution to bringing about
a change in that culture and hope that we will be given the respect, time and
space needed to do this work.
From All
Participants of the Class of DDS2015 involved in the Restorative Justice Process
We are all committed
to working together within the restorative justice process to deal with the
specific and broader issues and harms connected to the Facebook group. Through
this process we are dealing with the immediate incident at hand while also
investigating the contributing factors that got us here as a class, faculty, and
university. We hope this letter sheds some light on our process so far, on what
we hope to accomplish, and on some of the challenges we have faced. We believe
that the education and perspective that we are gaining through our participation
in the restorative justice process will allow us to be better health-care
providers, colleagues, and representatives of Dalhousie University. We ask, as a
group, that our privacy and our right to pursue this restorative process off the
public stage be respected. The constant public attention has been harmful and
even sometimes threatening to us, our families and friends. We will engage with
the broader communities and issues involved through the restorative process, but
first need to continue to work to understand and address the immediate harms
involved. We hope that through this process our voices and experiences will make
significant contributions to the important public discussions about sexism,
misogyny, inclusion, and professionalism.
National Post, March 2, 2015.
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