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A group of six students played an instrumental role in revising the sexual misconduct protocol at University of Toronto Schools (UTS), working in tandem with the school lawyers and administration, as part of a far-reaching action plan to change what they call the “culture of consent” at UTS.
“We went through line by line to edit the school protocol,” says S6 (grade 12) student Danielle Hidi, one of the student members of the UTS Committee on Culture Reform Related to Gender-based Violence and Harassment, where students and staff work together to advocate for curriculum, cultural and policy reform on these issues.
“The first person you tell about an incident like this – their reaction can really dictate who else you tell, and if you're going to take action,” says Danielle. “It’s really hard to write protocol that’s fair to everyone. We met with the school lawyers who gave us feedback and said what we could and couldn’t change.”
Changes started with the simple things, like making the language gender-neutral and less legal so it’s easier for students to understand. Then they went much deeper to make the overall policies more empathetic, creating a process for reporting and investigating that doesn’t further traumatize students who are reporting an incident, and establishing procedures that will ultimately make UTS a safer place to be for everyone. Even the name was revised to UTS Procedures for Addressing Suspected Sexual Misconduct.
Throughout the process, lawyers Rob Weir and Stephanie Young at Borden Ladner Gervais struck a balance, addressing the concerns of students and staff concerns while upholding legal obligations.
UTS established the Committee on Culture Reform Related to Gender-based Violence and Harassment last fall, in response to concerns raised over the summer of 2020 by Danielle and S5 (grade 11) student Anasofia Florez, and two recent alumni, Madigan Ruch ’20 and Clementine Wing Yi Leong ’19.
“Consent is a very nuanced thing and we were just seeing that people didn't really understand what it meant,” says Danielle. “We wanted better consent education so if teachers see things going on in their classes, they understand when and how to respond in a productive way.”
The students and recent alumni shared all of their concerns and potential solutions in a document called the List of Demands, provided to Principal Rosemary Evans and UTS administration.
“Our students were really eager to see change in this area and it was deeply meaningful,” says UTS Principal Rosemary Evans, who is on the Committee. “This work on consent is something we're going to be continuously addressing to help staff and students to understand what we can all do to prevent gender-based violence.”
The 2020-21 School Captains, S6 (grade 12) students Jaden Lo and Aliana Niezova, became involved as well as a few other students, being the change they wish to see at our school, exemplifying everything our school stands for – the core of the UTS Strategic Plan aims to empower students to take initiative, and innovate as socially responsible global citizens.
Strategic initiative: creating a school culture free of sexual harassment and assault
In response to student concerns, UTS made the goal of ‘Creating a School Culture Free of Sexual Harassment and Assault’ one of the school’s four 2020-21 Strategic Initiatives, with the Committee on Culture Reform tasked with leading the way.
Monthly meetings to drive progress take place with the students, and staff members on the Committee, which include Vice Principal Garth Chalmers, AP Coordinator and Guidance Counsellor Dr. Nancy Dawe, and several other staff. The students also meet independently under the guidance of Acting Head of Admissions Jon Bitidis ’99.
In fall 2020, the Committee set out comprehensive steps on the journey to change, in the UTS Action Steps re Cultural Reforms Related to Preventing Gender-based Harassment and Violence. Aside from revising protocols, it outlined plans to train students and staff on these issues, improve the related curriculum at the school and take part in research that furthers our understanding of consent.
A simple yet crucial change they made was adding a permanent tab on the Chrome browser with the school login, so any student who is logged into the UTS system has crisis resources at their fingertips. “Anyone who's having a tough time just has a really easy link to click and access help,” says Danielle.
Emerging from this process is the need to educate our entire community about consent. “It’s not just sexual relations that need consent,” says Danielle. “Even when F1s (grade 7s) are kind of jabbing at each other and someone asks them to stop and they keep going like it's no big deal… This creates a culture where your word no doesn't mean as much. When someone says ‘no’, it should just be taken as no and the response should be: ‘Of course, I'll stop.’”
When the students talk about creating a culture of consent, they mean moving beyond ‘no means no’ to a ‘yes means yes’ approach.
“We are advocating for informed and enthusiastic consent,” she says. “Silence does not mean yes.”
The new Procedures for Addressing Suspected Sexual Misconduct were drafted hand-in-hand with a communication plan to use infographics and clear language to ensure the entire community is aware of the support available to them, and how the reporting process works. The students are also working with UTS Parents’ Association (UTSPA) to produce a video on consent, scripted by the students to assist parents in discussing consent with their children and bringing it into their homes.
Bringing restorative justice to UTS Another idea brought forward by the students and alumni was to incorporate restorative justice as part of the solution when a student reports an issue.
“Restorative practices can become a value within a school,” says Vice Principal Garth Chalmers, “that really everything that you do as a school becomes linked to the idea of restorative practices. It’s a big overall shift in culture and how people interact, thinking along the lines of restoration and kindness to each other.”
A learning process is underway, with the Committee on Culture Reform becoming an unofficial book club, studying The Little Book of Restorative Practices in Education, by writer Katherine Evans and Dr. Dorothy Vaandering, associate professor at the Faculty of Education at Memorial University in Newfoundland, who was a primary school educator for 20 years. The Committee also learned about best practices from UTS alumnus Jeff Carolin '00, a criminal justice lawyer with expertise in restorative justice.
UTS staff, including Vice Principals Garth Chalmers and Garry Kollins, and Guidance Counsellors Nancy Dawe and Catherine Wachter, completed restorative justice training with the International Institute for Resorative Practices and also met with the Waterloo-based organization Community Justice Initiatives to learn how the school might incorporate restorative circles.
“Restorative circles are like a mediation with a specific set of restorative questions posed so the people involved come to better understand the perspectives and feelings of what's going on with the other person,” says Mr. Chalmers. “The hope is that by understanding each other better there will be some forgiveness for damage done and some ability to move forward together.”
He cautions that a main principle of restorative justice process is that it can only take place if all parties agree to take part in the process – it will never be forced on anyone.
Working with researchers to make sure the changes we implement are based on evidence is another goal of the Committee on Culture Reform. The students began meeting with Dr. Faye Mishna, a Professor with the University of Toronto’s Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work, to share their perspectives and discuss how the school can support her research into cyber-bullying and consent.
Officially launching at UTS this April (a focus group with some students and staff has already taken place) is the Beyond Bullying Project led by Dr. Jessica Fields, Vice-Dean Faculty Affairs, Equity and Success at the University of Toronto Scarborough, and Dr. Jen Gilbert, Associate Professor of Education at York University. Following a similar study in the U.S., the project aims to explore the stories that circulate in high schools about LGBTQ2S+ gender and sexuality and how these impact the lives of students and staff, by offering everyone a virtual space to share their story. Dr. Cresencia Fong, Head of Teacher Learning, Innovation and Research at UTS, is working with some UTS staff, students and Beyond Bullying researchers to implement the project at the school this spring.
This is just the beginning. Improving the culture of consent at UTS is very much a work in progress. Training for staff and students is underway with peer-to-peer training on consent planned for later this school year. They are continuing to examine the UTS curricula related to healthy relationships, gender-based harassment and assault, gender equity and inclusivity and planning, with an eye to ensuring it broadens student understanding and is appropriate for their age.
“I’m really proud of the students on this Committee for being active and committed, for reviewing the protocol to help it be more survivor-friendly in terms of the language use, and all the steps that need to be taken to be supportive while balancing the legal realities,” says Acting Head of Admissions Jon Bitidis ’99, who is the staff supervisor of the students on the Committee. “But I think the students’ biggest accomplishment was starting the discussion.”
Because they took that brave first step, our school will become a safer place for everyone.
