Complaints require confidentiality: U of M president

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 16/09/2017 (2946 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

University of Manitoba president David Barnard says the identities of sexual-harassment victims and alleged perpetrators alike have to be kept confidential, just days after a woman went public saying she had accused a prominent jazz professor of sexual harassment earlier this year.

As first reported in the Free Press this week, Steve Kirby quietly retired in June from his 14-year career at the U of M and has since been hired by the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston.

Berklee announced Thursday it had placed the 61-year-old Kirby on leave, pending a review and assessment, after it learned about an investigation by the U of M that concluded the woman’s allegations, detailing unwanted touching, hugging and kissing, had merit.

Barnard, in an email Friday afternoon to all staff and students at the Winnipeg university, said while he didn’t want to comment on any individual case, identities of people involved in complaints such as this have to be kept confidential.

He admitted keeping confidentiality can be tough when you’re “directly involved.”

“These matters are complex and they require navigating many sensitive and challenging issues, often within a competing framework of rights and interests and legislative requirements.

“In order for the policies to work effectively, they have to respect the confidentiality and privacy of the complainant, but also of the respondent. That can be difficult to accept when one is directly involved, but it is essential in order to maintain the integrity of the process.”

Barnard, who noted the university’s new sexual-assault policy will be reviewed in three years, said he is “confident the policies work, that they help keep our campuses safe, inclusive and respectful.”

“The policies are critical to building the university we want to be, and we are committed to refining them as required. This is an iterative process. We listen, we learn, and we improve.”

kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca