The University’s Harassment and Discrimination Policy underwent its first major restructuring in three years.
On a May 9th meeting, the Board of Trustees approved updates to the Queen’s Harassment and Discrimination Prevention and Response Policy. The changes proposed by Vice-Principal (Culture, Equity and Inclusion) Stephanie Simpson went into effect on Sept. 1, marking the first full review of the Policy and its two Procedures—related to filing complaints and making reports—since it was first approved in 2021.
Between Sept. 1, 2023 and Aug. 31, 2024, the Harassment and Discrimination Intake Assessment Team received 202 complaints/reports under the Policy.
In a statement to The Journal, the University explained its decision to review the policy, claiming “the Vice-Principal (Culture, Equity, and Inclusion) felt it was important based on feedback from community members and the experience gained by the Intake Team from having interacted with the policy and complaint/reports under the policy for a few years.”
The Board approved changes to section five, which, once titled “Alternative Resolution,” has been renamed “Resources and Information when Considering Filing a Complaint or Report.” According to the Board’s report, the revisions respond to a problematic “complaint culture” in which there was sometimes “little or no effort to assess or resolve” complaints submitted through the formal processes.
The updated section encourages individuals to consult with the University resource offices before filing a formal complaint or report. However, the University clarified that “nobody’s prevented from filing a complaint without first engaging with these resource offices.”
University claims that the changes made haven’t affected the process of submitting a complaint itself, and complaints will continue to be addressed by the Intake Assessment Team within two weeks of their receiving it.
The updated Policy also mandates that a “Person of Authority” must consult with Human Resources or the Faculty Relations Office before filing a mandatory report on Workplace Harassment. If an agreement is reached in this consultation, the relevant department must then provide a summary of the process and resolution to the Vice-Principal.
In response to questions from The Journal, the University didn’t specify how the vice-principal would ensure the informal consultations were conducted appropriately.
The Board also approved expanding the definition of “Person of Authority.” Previously, the term only applied to supervisors of alleged transgressors, but the term now includes supervisors and managers of affected employees as well. The University claims this was a response to “issues more often [coming] to the attention of those responsible for workplaces where people who felt they had been subjected to a policy breach work.”
Other changes to the policy include altering previous language stating the University “will not tolerate” harassment, discrimination, or reprisal to instead say that the University “prohibits” these things. The University claims the previous wording “didn’t clearly or strongly enough send the message that such conduct is in fact prohibited.”
Similarly, the University strengthened its language surrounding acts of reprisal against those involved in the complaint process. The updated policy specifies that anyone engaging in such acts “will be subject to disciplinary action up to and including termination from employment and/or a requirement that a student withdraw from studies.”
The University didn’t provide The Journal with any information regarding how the success of these revisions will be measured or when the next review will occur.
Tags
Board of Trustees, Harassment and Discrimination Prevention and Response Policy, Policy
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John Sherbino
If there are no complaints then there is a REAL problem. It doesn’t matter if there are a ‘lot of complaints’ but it does matter if there aren’t any. Universities are all about cultures and the people who represent or at least reflect them. If you missed basic psychology or sociology it’s useful to know individuals draw conclusions without enough information or, based upon their personal experience, generalize to their personal population or the ‘other’ population.That’s normal. If you tell them that (in the nicest possible way) they will be upset. Policies and procedures are no substitute for competent discussion. But, in the end, you’ve always got your hammer.