The ongoing boycott against the SMSV exposes Concordia’s years of mishandling sexual violence cases, underscoring the pressing need for policy reform.
On March 8, International Women’s Day, Concordia University’s Support Staff Union (CUSSU) and Library Support Staff (CULEU) joined the Concordia Student Union (CSU), the Graduate Students’ Association (GSA) and Concordia Research and Education Workers (CREW) in their ongoing boycott of the university’s Sexual Misconduct and Sexual Violence Committee (SMSV).
The boycott is an initiative against Concordia’s years of mismanagement and inadequacy in handling sexual assault and violence cases of students, teaching assistants (TAs), research assistants (RAs), and staff.
The SMSV was created in 2018 as a measure to comply with Bill 151 which was passed in 2017 following university students urging the Quebec government for action in the wake of numerous claims and scandals of sexual misconduct surrounding Quebec universities.
The boycott was first initiated in 2022 by the Concordia Student Union (CSU), the Graduate Students’ Association (GSA) and the Concordia Research and Education Workers Union (CREW), who refused to participate in the committee and withdrew from the SMSV. The unions now demand new policies that are survivor-centric with an emphasis on respecting survivors’ wishes.
Concordia University’s current policy on handling sexual assault and violence as directed by the Office of Rights and Responsibility (ORR), decides whether to escalate, investigate or legally pursue a case without the survivor’s consent.
Hannah Jackson, the external affairs and mobilization coordinator of the CSU, shared her experience working with survivors of sexual assault and discovering the importance of survivor autonomy and agency.
“Sexual violence is a kind of trauma that robs people of their sense of agency and makes you feel like your body doesn’t belong to you and you don’t control what happens with it,” Jackson said.
In 2021, the Quebec Government introduced Bill 64, an act that modernizes legislative provisions regarding the protection of personal information. Furthermore, it amends Bill 151, the act to prevent and fight sexual violence in higher education institutions by specifying that educational institutions are required by law to communicate to the complainant the details of whether a penalty has been imposed (Bill 64, para. 99).
In the joint statement letter sent to Concordia administration, the unions call for the University to apply Bill 64 retroactively, which would allow previous complainants to access the details and outcome of their sexual violence case. In their joint statement letter, the unions claim Concordia continues to refuse to disclose the outcome of previous cases before the passing of Bill 64 upon the request of complainants.
“It’s basically saying you’re just a nameless statistic tracking the sexual violence complaints,” Jackson said, adding that survivors can’t appeal or take further action if they are not aware of how the case was processed.
Additionally, in the joint statement letter, the unions expressed concern about the university’s “It Takes All of Us” training program for sexual violence being sold to other educational institutions despite persistent critiques from students and survivors regarding its ineffectiveness and re-traumatization.
Concordia has been accused of withholding information and prohibiting access to information of previous complainants of sexual assault survivors.
“The SMSV committee is convened and controlled by upper administration, without meaningful input from students and staff or any binding powers over the policy itself. Our ‘seats at the table’ served only to legitimize an undemocratic consultation process to meet the minimum standard required by law,” the unions specified in a joint statement letter sent to the administration.
The statement letter adds that the procedure to address sexual violence complaints against instructors and supervisors is often delayed for years. Concordia’s lengthy complaint process risks leaving contracted and student workers without safe employment, often resolving issues after the duration of their contract or academic pursuit.
“The SMSV continues to ignore the problem at the core which is that we don’t have a voice on the SMSV, we haven’t been listened to and we have no binding power over the policy in that committee,” said Becca Wilgosh, the mobilization officer for CREW.
CREW reported that most complaints from its members concern harassment. Wilgosh explained that Concordia’s staff, particularly those in support roles, are more vulnerable to abuse or harassment from supervisors highlighting the importance of their involvement in shaping the university’s sexual violence policies.
“We want to see them enact some [of our demands] as a show of good faith […] we are not going back to a table where we’re not listened to,” she added. Since the boycott, the unions have been invited by the SMSV to individual closed-door meetings where they’re encouraged to rejoin the committee without enacting the union’s list of demands.
Wilgosh emphasized the ongoing effort to expand their coalition by engaging with more unions to join the boycott. Their goal is to create a committee that operates independently of the university led by students and unions, ensuring their voices are heard.
The issue of gender-neutral bathrooms
The union’s joint statement letter sent to the Concordia administration also highlights the university’s discriminatory policies against queer and transgender students and employees.
Concordia is “committed to increasing the number of inclusive bathrooms,” yet continues to install security cameras in these spaces while gendered bathrooms remain unmonitored.
Concordia’s Center for Gender Advocacy (CGA) asserts the university’s discriminatory action against the members of the LGBTQ+ community violates privacy and reinforces negative stereotypes against trans people, potentially leading to more violence against them.
“The installment of security cameras in the gender-inclusive washrooms just demonstrates the huge double standard on Concordia’s part where they’re trying to make spaces safer and more inclusive,” said Adam Jivraj, the community engagement coordinator for the CGA.
“But, choosing to engage in the surveillance of trans and non-binary students,” he added.
Additionally, the CGA emphasizes that the university’s requirement for employees to disclose their sex assigned at birth compromises transgender workers’ privacy and exposes them to potential harassment.
Becca Wilgosh emphasized the crucial role of the Concordia Trans Student Collective in drafting the demands for better LGBTQ+ protections section “Take better steps to protect students’ and staff rights” deserving special recognition.
