Resignations and allegations of gendered violence

Students’ faith in the Student Society of Mcgill University (SSMU) has long been tenuous to say the least, but it has been severely shaken in recent weeks, as two executives resigned amid allegations of gendered and sexual violence.

On February 22, former VP External David Aird resigned from his position. The previous night, a public statement had been released by the Community Disclosure Network (CDN), a collective of survivors and allies, condemning “sexualized and gendered violence committed by Aird both before and during his time as VP External.” The CDN made it clear that they had expressly demanded Aird’s resignation.

In the aftermath of this incident, the remaining executives received intense public criticism. In particular, then-president Ben Ger was sharply criticised for allowing Aird to remain in a position of power for months, despite some level of knowledge of his abusive and misogynistic behaviour. It emerged that, as long ago as September 2016, Ger had been made aware of a complaint against Aird. Instead of implementing formal accountability procedures or demanding his resignation, Ger allegedly set up a system of “check-ins,” whereby the two men would meet periodically to discuss Aird’s behaviour.

Following Aird’s resignation and the public discovery of his behaviour, this system of “check-ins” was roundly condemned as unacceptably informal, untransparent, and ineffective. However, when, on Marc 9, Ger resigned amid allegations of gendered violence, public outrage intensified.

This latest crisis was complicated by the fact that SSMU did not initially acknowledge this fact publicly, at first releasing a statement which praised Ger’s work for the Society in glowing terms. It was not until SSMU Council that evening that the executive team informed the public that a survivor of gendered violence had come forward with allegations against Ger. Even then, an official statement was not released for another two weeks, leaving the responsibility to campus media to spread this news.

In the wake of this second resignation, the remaining executives faced further anger and scrutiny from SSMU members. Meanwhile, Aird’s responsibilities were largely taken on by VP University Affairs Erin Sobat, while VP Student Life Elaine Patterson stepped into the role of acting President.

Widespread concern about SSMU’S ability to handle disclosures of abuse equitably and effectively was reflected in the election campaign for next year’s executive team, with several candidates promising to prioritize the development of a SSMU policy on sexual violence. Currently, the Society’s equity policy does not cover sexual violence, which is theoretically handled at the Mcgill level, meaning that a hypothetical abuser within SSMU’S power structures might not face accountability processes appropriate to their SSMU position.

When the 2017-2018 SSMU executive was elected in mid-march, many in the Mcgill community expressed optimism based on the more diverse makeup of the incoming team. In contrast to this year’s primarily white, male executive, next year’s is entirely composed of women and people of colour. Moreover, as previously stated, many of those elected have committed themselves to developing a SSMU policy on sexual violence.

While these are certainly hopeful developments, it remains to be seen whether next year’s executive will manage to institute adequate accountability mechanisms for handling disclosures, and to restore some measure of trust in SSMU after Aird and Ger’s resignations.