FAQ: Submitting a PSEAH complaint

Survivor: an individual who has experienced sexual exploitation, abuse, or harassment, has disclosed an experience of sexual violence, or identifies as a survivor.

Complaint: the sharing of information or suspicion regarding acts of sexual exploitation, abuse, or harassment.

Complainant: a person who has chosen to initiate a complaint. This person may be a survivor, a witness, or a third person with knowledge of the substance of the complaint.

Respondent: a person who is alleged to have committed sexual exploitation, abuse, or harassment.

Individuals are encouraged to make complaints confidentially to one of the staff PSEAH leads in person, by phone, by email, or using the secure complaints webform. Complaints against Inter Pares staff and Board members should be made to the Board PSEAH lead.

Anonymous or confidential complaints of SEAH can be submitted in person, by phone or by email to:

Sam McGavin | smcgavin@interpares.ca | (613) 563-4831

accepts complaints in English and French

Hugues Alla | halla@interpares.ca | (613) 563-1403

accepts complaints in French and English

Nathalia Santos Ocasio | nsantosocasio@interpares.ca | (613) 695-8619

accepts complaints in Spanish, French and English

For complaints about Inter Pares staff or Board, please submit a complaint form to: 

Barbara Wood | bwood@interpares.ca

accepts complaints in English and Spanish

Disclosures of sexual exploitation, abuse, and harassment can be made to any Inter Pares co-manager. The person who receives the disclosure will then refer the survivor/complainant to a PSEAH lead for further follow-up.

It is not necessary to have proof to support a concern in order to make a complaint. If an individual feels uncomfortable with something seen or heard that be an incident of sexual exploitation, abuse, and/or harassment, this is sufficient cause to come forward. Survivors and complainants should feel that they are safe to come forward, that they will be listened to, and that action will be taken.

Anyone who feels that they have experienced, witnesses, or are of aware of an incident of sexual exploitation, abuse, and/or harassment involving Inter Pares may submit a complaint to Inter Pares.

Inter Pares can receive complaints involving any Inter Pares representative(s), or individual or group with whom Inter Pares has a relationship*. This includes:

• Inter Pares’ paid representatives (staff, contractors, consultants)
• Inter Pares’ unpaid representatives (Board members and volunteers)
• Representatives of Inter Pares counterparts (organizations receiving funds from Inter Pares and/or with a substantial collaborative relationship)
• Members of the Inter Pares community, including collaborators with whom there is no funding relationship

Please see Inter Pares’ Safeguarding and Prevention of Sexual Exploitation, Abuse, and Harassment Policy and Code of Conduct, Section 5 for more fulsome definitions of the above.

*Inter Pares will offer validation and support to all survivors/complainants as best we can. However, given the different nature of relationships of the above groupings with Inter Pares, it may not be appropriate to follow our formal complaints resolution process for a complaint. As feminists, we take complaints of sexual violence seriously and resist its normalization and acceptance; we thus may determine, independent of a complaint resolution process, that the complaint itself is sufficient cause to alter our relationship with the respondent. Please see Inter Pares’ Safeguarding and Prevention of Sexual Exploitation, Abuse, and Harassment Policy and Code of Conduct, Section 3 for more information on how Inter Pares views its responsibility towards different respondents.

Complaints may be submitted anonymously. However, depending on the scale of information provided, anonymity may restrict the extent of our investigation and the possible results.

Inter Pares commits to ensuring an organizational culture in which complaints are taken seriously and acted upon.

Inter Pares will respond to all complaints received from an identifiable complainant by offering an encouraging and supportive response, and explaining and exploring options for resolving the complaint. Inter Pares will inquire about the survivor’s immediate safety and wellbeing, and their strengths and resilience, and when possible and appropriate, offer support in this regard. Submitting a complaint does not oblige a complainant to pursue further resolution with Inter Pares.

Depending on the nature of the complaint(s) and the wishes of the survivor/complainant, three tracks are available for resolving the complaint.

A brief description of each track follows. For full descriptions, please see Inter Pares’ Safeguarding and Prevention of Sexual Exploitation, Abuse, and Harassment Policy and Code of Conduct, Section 9.C.

Track 1: Informal Resolution. The survivor/complainant and Inter Pares will together identify the most suitable person to approach the respondent directly, to discuss the complaint. We will engage the respondent in a discussion of what is appropriate behaviour, and set about a plan for them moving forward. Follow-up monitoring may be identified and offered to the respondent.

Track 2: Mediated Resolution. This path requires consent on both sides; it does not necessarily require face-to-face or in-person interaction between the survivor and the respondent. A mediated resolution will be facilitated by a person with training appropriate to the seriousness and nature of the allegations and the context of the parties. The outcome(s) of this process may include an apology letter from the respondent, a written agreement that includes behavioural expectations, an undertaking to engage in counselling and/or education or, a voluntary agreement by the respondent to appropriate measures, or a form of restitution settled on by agreement of all parties.

Track 3: Formal Resolution. Only the Formal Resolution Process may result in sanctions against the respondent and/or their organization. For a full list of possible sanctions and repercussions, please see Inter Pares’ full Safeguarding and Prevention of Sexual Exploitation, Abuse, and Harassment Policy and Code of Conduct. Inter Pares adopts an investigative (fact-finding) rather than adjudicative (hearing arguments from both sides) model for its formal resolution of complaints. A Formal Resolution includes an initial fact-finding process to establish the basic details of the complaint, and may include further investigation depending on these findings; all stages of investigation will be conducted by a trained third-party investigator. Survivors are given access to the confidential investigation report; survivor/complainants are informed of the outcome. Depending on the situation, Inter Pares may offer supportive measures to the survivor.

Sometimes, survivors or third parties make complaints out of the desire to disclose to someone, perhaps to Inter Pares specifically, and are not interested in pursuing a resolution of a complaint. As much as possible, Inter Pares will respect this wish. However, it is possible that Inter Pares, based on the nature of the complaint, will decide that it is of significant institutional concern and requires formal resolution, regardless of whether the survivor/complainant prefers this path. Factors considered in this decision may include whether there is a pattern of events or a single serious incident; whether the disclosure indicates an unsafe institutional environment, and; the scale/nature of the programmatic relationship with the individual(s) or organization(s) in question. In such an instance, all reasonable efforts will be made to restore control to the survivor/claimant and to protect the survivor/complainant’s anonymity if so-desired.

Please note that Inter Pares is legally obliged to report abuse against children below the age of 16 in Canada, regardless of the wishes of the complainant/survivor. Please see Inter Pares’ Safeguarding and Prevention of Sexual Exploitation, Abuse, and Harassment Policy and Code of Conduct, Section 4, for complaints involving underage minors.

While Inter Pares cannot guarantee complete confidentiality, information about complaints and investigations shall be limited to individuals bound to confidentiality and on a need-to-know basis. Inter Pares will not reveal a survivor/complainant’s name, personal details, or specific details of the complaints to anyone outside the organization without the survivor/complainant’s permission, unless required by law.

Should disclosure or complaints involve acts against underage minors, Inter Pares will notify relevant child welfare authorities immediately, even if confidentiality was requested by the complainant/survivor. This decision is based on statutory obligations under Canadian law. Please see Inter Pares’ Safeguarding and Prevention of Sexual Exploitation, Abuse, and Harassment Policy and Code of Conduct, Section 4, for complaints involving underage minors.

While complaints are being processed, Inter Pares may take immediate measures to minimize harm and institutional liability. If the respondent is an Inter Pares representative, immediate measures may include removing them from situations that would impose contact with a survivor, that would enable the respondent to take decisions that affect the survivor, and/or that would enable a continuation of the behaviours at issue with anyone else.

Immediate measures will be identified and implemented by the PSEAH lead in consultation with the complainant, Please see Inter Pares’ Safeguarding and Prevention of Sexual Exploitation, Abuse, and Harassment Policy and Code of Conduct, Section 9.B., for more on immediate measures.