PREVENTION & ACCOUNTABILITY
INTERVENTION MOMENTS TO PREVENT VIOLENCE & ADDRESS DISCLOSURES OF HARM BY THOSE WORKING & VOLUNTEERING WITH @OCTEVAW
VOLUNTEER & STAFF RECRUITMENT
job postings
interview questions
references and vetting process
SURVIVOR DISCLOSURES
support for survivors
disclosure policy and process
role in prevention and accountability framework development
VOLUNTEER & STAFF ORIENTATION & EXPECTATIONS SETTING
accountability steps: non-HR-specific
accountability steps: HR-specific
November 15, 2021
Dear community members,
We’re writing to update you on the progress we are making in developing OCTEVAW’s survivor disclosure policy. This work is taking longer than we had expected and hoped—we’ve learned so much in the early stages that has shifted our approach and extended our timeline. We plan to share the policy for your feedback before the end of the year. In the meantime, we want to let you know what we have done and what we’ve learned.
Key steps to date:
OCTEVAW engaged Ubuntu Consulting <http://www.yamimsosa.com> as a consultant to provide leadership and develop a transformative justice-informed accountability process for survivor disclosures.
Ubuntu Consulting and the OCTEVAW ED convened an advisory committee of folks who work from a TJ lens to inform our next steps. This committee was made up of (4) community leaders: (1) partners from SafetyLabs (a Kind Space Ottawa initiative), (1) lawyer and (2) activists. The committee met in February 2021. Following that meeting, group members were interviewed one-one-one and in focus groups to elicit in-depth perspectives and knowledge. In total, 12 people were interviewed, including 4 OCTEVAW representatives (the OCTEVAW ED, 1 program staff member, and 2 board members). This advisory committee was critical in shifting our understanding from a survivor disclosure policy as a linear, uniform process to a survivor-led framework that includes different pathways informed by transformative justice.
We have engaged legal expertise to support OCTEVAW in developing a framework that pushes against traditional approaches to workplace harm while meeting our legal obligations as a charitable organization. Kirsten Mercer<https://goldblattpartners.com/our-lawyers/kirsten-mercer/> is helping us flesh out the different pathways survivors may choose to ensure that what we propose goes as far as we can, given our legal constraints.
Our goal is to develop a survivor disclosure framework and pathways that avoid mainstream approaches that rely on division, conflict, and quasi-carceral methods. We also want this work to be deeply informed by a transformative justice framework. This development process is a rich one and it continues to uncover new tensions, questions, and opportunities. We are grateful for your patience and look forward to sharing OCTEVAW’s framework for survivor disclosures and accountability pathways for your feedback by the end of 2021.
As always, if you have questions, you can reach out to the Chair of OCTEVAW’s Board of Directors, Barbara Laskin at feedback@octevaw-cocvff.ca.
Update on OCTEVAW's Response to Concerns About Disclosures
June 28, 2021We want to provide an update on our survivor disclosure policy. Since our last update in February 2021, we apologize for the delay. To increase our transparency, we are sharing our proposed workplan and will share updates on the milestones included in it. If you have any questions or feedback, please reach out to the Chair of our board Barbara Laskin at feedback@octevaw-cocvff.ca
Proposed Work Plan
Survivor Disclosure Policy Framework
Phase 1
Development Framework
Research of Best Practices
Review Current Policy
completed May 2021
Phase 2
Meeting with Advisory + Stakeholders at OCTEVAW for input on policy (June/July 2021)
Draft Policy Policy #1 (June/July 2021)
Draft Policy # 2 to be open for community feedback August 2021
Phase 3
Implementation of edits and suggestions by September 2021
Draft Policy #3 sent to OCTEVAW for any last edits
Final draft completed by September 2021
Phase 4
Release of policy to the community/ website etc.
Update on OCTEVAW's Response to Concerns About Disclosures
February 3, 2021Update on OCTEVAW's Response to Concerns About Disclosures
December 2, 2020 In OCTEVAW’s last update, we promised that we would share a draft survivor disclosure policy for the broader community to provide feedback and comments on February 3rd.
We were ambitious in our timelines and are still working on a draft.
We have engaged an external consultant with experience working within the gender-based violence movement and violence against women organizations, as well as transformative justice-circle processes to support our work on accountability. They are guiding this process recognizing that doing transformative work that is meaningful takes time. This work is important, and we want to move forward with intention.
OCTEVAW’s survivor disclosure policy will be guided by an external advisory committee of mostly BIPOC folx that also have expertise in gender-based violence and transformational justice. This advisory committee will not include OCTEVAW's member organizations.
We will post soon with more details, including how we will ensure that the wider community in Ottawa is kept up to date and engaged as we make progress.
As always, if you have questions you can reach out to the Chair of OCTEVAW’s Board of Directors, Barbara Laskin at feedback@octevaw-cocvff.ca
We are beginning our work on how we handle disclosures made about those who work for or volunteer with OCTEVAW. So, we want to make a Prevention and Accountability Framework. We'd like the community's help.
OCTEVAW's First Response to Concerns About Disclosures
November 18, 2020OCTEVAW has recently been contacted by community members with concerns about how our organization responds when survivors disclose violence and abuse. We want to be transparent and accountable to all survivors, understanding that accountability is frequently denied to survivors of violence, causing them still more harm.