Weir needs to understand impact of his actions
Regina MP accused of harassment still doesn’t get it, writes Angella Macewen
Discussing sexual harassment makes people uncomfortable. In the #Metoo era, men sometimes say that they don’t know how to act around women anymore, and are afraid of being wrongly labelled. The conversation can’t end there. If we want to foster healthy and productive workplaces where men and women both feel comfortable, we have to address the issue head on and have uncomfortable adult conversations.
Right now, Regina MP
Erin Weir is at the centre of one of those uncomfortable discussions about how to handle sexual harassment in the workplace. In May of this year, an independent investigator found merit in one claim of harassment and three claims of sexual harassment against Mr. Weir. He was offered training by the federal NDP, but Weir decided to argue his case in the media, calling the charges “trumped up” and identifying one of the women who had come forward. Weir was immediately removed from the NDP caucus.
Weir has continued to argue his case in the media. Central to Weir’s case is that his behaviour was at the less severe end of the spectrum, and that the investigator found he likely didn’t intend to harass anyone. So what exactly counts as sexual harassment, and does his intent matter?
A wide variety of behaviours are considered sexual harassment, including invasion of personal space, unwanted touching, leering (my eyes are up here!), uninvited stories about sexual prowess, lewd jokes, repeated unwanted advances. And, it’s the impact of your actions that matter for proving sexual harassment, not your intent.
Does that mean you could be sexually harassing someone right now and not even know it? Not exactly, no. It just means that excuses like “I had no idea”, “it was just a joke”, or “I meant it as a compliment” do not fly. As in many other areas of our society, the test is that a reasonable person ought to have known that such behaviour would be unwanted.
If someone backs away from your hand on their shoulder, a reasonable person understands that touch was unwanted, apologizes, and makes a mental note not to repeat that behaviour. This is especially true if you happen to be in a position of authority.
Finally, whether or not you intended to intimidate someone or make them feel uncomfortable, what really matters is how you handle yourself when the situation is brought to your attention. When the negative impact of one’s actions are pointed out, a person should accept responsibility, apologize, and try to do better in the future.
Responding with defensiveness, attempting to diminish the severity of the impact, or impugning
Whenthe negative impact of one’s actions are pointed out, a person should accept responsibility, apologize, and try to do better
the credibility of those who have come forward is a good indication that a person did not get the severity of the situation.
This is what resulted in Weir’s expulsion from caucus, not the original investigation. Weir reacted by claiming the accusations were trumped up in retaliation for not following the party line on carbon pricing — a claim NDP MP Charlie Angus has called “bizarre and unfounded”. Further, Weir has used his platform in the national media to downplay the severity of accusations and present a partial accounting of events. Harassment of any kind is often about power, and Weir has continued to use his power in a way that shows he does not understand the impact of his actions.
This week, 67 former Saskatchewan NDP politicians wrote a letter defending Weir and attacking Singh’s decision to remove Weir from caucus. This is understandable; we want to defend our friends, in this case a dedicated social democrat. Singh’s decision may mean the NDP loses the seat in Regina in the next federal election. Fundraising, a perennial difficulty for a grassroots party like the NDP, may take a blow.
So why would Singh make such a difficult and unpopular decision when it would have been far easier to simply allow Weir to return to caucus?
The truth is that good leaders make tough choices. Singh has a responsibility to create a safe workplace for the young men and women working for the NDP on Parliament Hill, and to set a standard of behaviour for MPS to follow. While it was a difficult call, it was the right one. Angella Macewen is a member of the New Democratic Party, a labour economist and former colleague of Erin Weir. She was raised on a farm near Eston.