<p dir="ltr">Dear all,</p>
<p dir="ltr">I will strongly suggest that we thread with caution here. IMO the Ombudsman has provided adequate information,(while staying within its obligations of maintaining confidentiality) that allows us who were not witnesses to have an idea of what happened.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Now it will be a different story, if what was said by the Ombudsman is confirmed/challenged by either parties on grounds of misrepresentation of information. </p>
<p dir="ltr">Personally some form of physical contact comes to mind whenever I hear of such an harassment and I don't think there is an indication of that in the write-up. This is however not to downplay the issue experienced by Padmini and definitely not a call against improving on existing policies to better protect every community member irrespective of race and gender as there is always room for improvement.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Regards</p>
<p dir="ltr">Sent from my LG G4<br>
Kindly excuse brevity and typos</p>
<div class="gmail_quote">On 30 Mar 2016 19:52, "Sana Ali" <<a href="mailto:sana.ali2030@gmail.com">sana.ali2030@gmail.com</a>> wrote:<br type="attribution"><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex"><div style="word-wrap:break-word"><div><br></div>I agree with all of Corinne’s points, and particularly think the first question should be conveyed back to the Ombudsman and a request made that he respond officially. Is the investigation he refers to, whether the incident happened, what it consisted of or who committed it? I also think this mention of multiple ‘suspects’ confuses the issue substantially and warrants further clarification.<div><br><div><div>Sana Ali</div><div><div><div><div style="word-wrap:break-word"><div><a href="mailto:sana.ali2030@gmail.com" target="_blank">sana.ali2030@gmail.com</a></div><div><a href="https://ca.linkedin.com/in/sanaali2030" target="_blank">https://ca.linkedin.com/in/sanaali2030</a></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><div>
<div style="color:rgb(0,0,0);letter-spacing:normal;text-align:start;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px;word-wrap:break-word"><div><br></div></div></div><div><blockquote type="cite"><div>On Mar 30, 2016, at 1:56 PM, Corinne Cath <<a href="mailto:corinnecath@gmail.com" target="_blank">corinnecath@gmail.com</a>> wrote:</div><br><div><div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:georgia,serif"><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:0cm">Dear all,
</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:0cm"><br></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:0cm">I welcome the statements made by the
Ombudsman on the necessity for opening a conversation about developing an
anti-harassment policy, but am quite surprised by some of the wording in his blog. <br></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:0cm"><br></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:0cm">I feel it leaves several questions unanswered, which I am
sharing with you below.</p><div style="text-indent:0cm"> <br></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:0cm">1. Why is the breach of
confidentiality presented as a reason to being unable to further investigate
the alleged harassment case? Why does/should such a breach impede the Ombudsman from
further investigating? </p><div style="text-indent:0cm"> <br></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:0cm">2. “The matters alleged cannot be
considered serious by any standard. If in fact the action and statement were
made, it may have been a lapse of good manners and insensitive to gender. Such
issues need to be taken in proportion, and best practice is not to debate this
in a public forum where the issues are not yet clear. I note Ms. Baruah does
not agree with my view.” <br></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:0cm">Why and how was this assessment of the seriousness of the alleged harassment made? What standards
has the Ombudsman looked at or taken into consideration when making this
judgment?</p><div style="text-indent:0cm"> <br></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:0cm">3. Why is the issue of jurisdiction
mentioned in the blog? How is the issue of jurisdiction addressed in the
anti-harassment policy for the board and the ICANN staff? What would have been
the outcome of this case if it had been weighed according to the internal
anti-harassment policy? </p><div style="text-indent:0cm"> <br></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:0cm">4. Does the overall language in this
blog strike a fair balance between the gravity of the alleged harassment case
and the breach of confidentiality?</p><div style="text-indent:0cm"> <br></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:0cm">5. How has the Ombudsman weighed
these two issues (alleged harassment and the breach of confidentiality)? And to
what extent should they be separated and addressed individually?</p><div style="text-indent:0cm"> <br></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:0cm">I look forward to hearing your
thoughts and comments on this important matter and I hope that as the NCUC we
can be part of the process to develop the necessary policies and procedures. <br></p><div style="text-indent:0cm"> <br></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:0cm">Best,</p><div style="text-indent:0cm"> <br></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:0cm">Corinne </p><div style="text-indent:0cm"> <br></div><div style="text-indent:0cm"> <br></div>
</div></div><div class="gmail_extra"><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Wed, Mar 30, 2016 at 3:52 PM, Ayden Férdeline <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:hostime@gmail.com" target="_blank">hostime@gmail.com</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
<u></u>
<div style="word-wrap:normal;word-break:break-word">
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<div>Hello, all-</div><div><br></div><div>Shared without comment: Chris LaHatte, the Ombudsman, has published a post on his blog in relation to the alleged incident.</div><div><br></div><div><a href="https://omblog.icann.org/index.html?m=201603.html" target="_blank">https://omblog.icann.org/index.html?m=201603.html</a></div><div><br></div><div>Kind regards,</div><div><br></div><div>Ayden </div><div><div><div>
</div><div><div class="gmail_extra"><br>
<div class="gmail_quote">
On Thu, Mar 24, 2016 6:36 AM, Padmini <span dir="ltr"> <a href="mailto:pdmnbaruah@gmail.com" target="_blank">pdmnbaruah@gmail.com</a></span>
wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
<u></u>
<div dir="ltr">Dear Stephanie<div>You are very spot on when you say more work needs to be done. I do believe there is an absolute vacuum on procedures for sexual harassment that are impartial, diverse and reflective of fairness. Therefore, on issues like say privacy, confidentiality, definition alone, there are significant lacunae. That is what I meant.<br></div></div><div><br clear="all"><div><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr">Padmini Baruah<div>V Year, B.A.LL.B. (Hons.)</div><div>NLSIU, Bangalore</div></div></div></div></div></div>
<br><div>On Thu, Mar 24, 2016 at 11:03 AM, Stephanie Perrin <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:stephanie.perrin@mail.utoronto.ca" target="_blank">stephanie.perrin@mail.utoronto.ca</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
<div bgcolor="#FFFFFF" text="#000000">
ICANN's expected standards of behaviour are not fulsome, I agree,
but they do cover inappropriate conduct.
<a href="https://www.icann.org/resources/pages/expected-standards-2012-05-15-en" target="_blank">https://www.icann.org/resources/pages/expected-standards-2012-05-15-en</a><br>
In particular, the following (bullet 3) section covers how we treat
one another at ICANN (including at meetings):<br>
<strong><br>
</strong>
<blockquote><strong>Treat</strong><strong></strong> all members of
the <abbr title="Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and
Numbers">ICANN</abbr> community <b>equally,</b> irrespective of
nationality, gender, racial or ethnic origin, religion or beliefs,
disability, age, or sexual orientation; members of the <abbr title="Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers">ICANN</abbr>
community should treat each other <b>with civility</b> both face
to face and online. [emphasis added]<br>
</blockquote>
Not a great deal of detail, but "equally", particularly when
accompanied by the following recital, goes a long way to addressing
gender bias and inappropriate behaviour, as does the expression
"with civility". The redress mechanism is the Ombudsman. The 2005
RMAF <a href="https://www.icann.org/en/system/files/files/rmaf-08feb05-en.pdf" target="_blank">https://www.icann.org/en/system/files/files/rmaf-08feb05-en.pdf</a>
(Results-based Management Accountability Framework) details how the
model is expected to work. You might not think it is adequate, fair
enough, but it is not accurate to say there is nothing, in my view.
We need more, that's all.<br>
I am not criticising here, just trying to provide background
documents. As the statement says, more work on policies and
procedures needs to be done, and we in NCUC will help with that
work.<br>
<br>
Cheers Stephanie<div><div><br>
<div>On 2016-03-24 1:05, Padmini wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote type="cite">
<div dir="ltr">Thank you for this clear statement, and the support
for many of the issues I raised.
<div>I would just like to put on record that the phrases “<u style="font-weight:bold;font-style:italic">substantive due
process</u>” and “<u style="font-weight:bold;font-style:italic">evidentiary
burden being met</u>” have been echoed by me vocally and
repeatedly throughout the entire process, both to the
ombudsman and to many of you. I am a student of the law, and
have these principles, including natural justice well drilled
into my head. If there wasn't a failure of process, and such a
short time span to engage with the issue at the site of the
cause of action arising itself [given that the conference was
in Marrakech for 5 days], I might not have taken these steps
that I felt constrained to later.</div>
<div>Just pointing out, there is no trial, no court, and my
statement is my own, which I can back up with evidence. I do
not understand why issues of unfairness of procedure are being
raised when there is <i>no procedure in the first place</i>.</div>
<div>I would really appreciate it, generally, if that were
acknowledged.</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>Thanks everyone.</div>
</div>
<div><br clear="all">
<div>
<div>
<div dir="ltr">
<div>
<div dir="ltr">Padmini Baruah
<div>V Year, B.A.LL.B. (Hons.)</div>
<div>NLSIU, Bangalore</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<br>
<div>On Thu, Mar 24, 2016 at 10:26 AM,
Stephanie Perrin <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:stephanie.perrin@mail.utoronto.ca" target="_blank"></a><a href="mailto:stephanie.perrin@mail.utoronto.ca" target="_blank">stephanie.perrin@mail.utoronto.ca</a>></span>
wrote:<br>
<blockquote style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
<div bgcolor="#FFFFFF" text="#000000"> Thank you very much
for publishing this statement. I think it is very
helpful, and indeed crystallizes some of the issues. <br>
Stephanie Perrin
<div>
<div><br>
<br>
<div>On 2016-03-23 22:44, Rafik Dammak wrote:<br>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<blockquote type="cite">
<div>
<div>
<div dir="ltr"><span style="font-size:12.8px">STATEMENT
OF THE NONCOMMERCIAL USERS CONSTITUENCY
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE (NCUC-EC) ON SEXUAL
HARASSMENT</span><br style="font-size:12.8px">
<br style="font-size:12.8px">
<span style="font-size:12.8px">Accusations of
sexual harassment at ICANN 55 raise two issues,
which must be kept distinct. One is whether this
particular incident constituted sexual
harassment and if so, what would be an
appropriate response. The other is whether ICANN
needs to be better prepared to handle situations
like this with well-defined policies and
procedures. We believe that these two issues are
being confused.</span><br style="font-size:12.8px">
<br style="font-size:12.8px">
<span style="font-size:12.8px">With regard to the
alleged incident, there is very little objective
evidence, and the community is grappling with
this issue in the absence of a clear, commonly
accepted definition of sexual harassment.* We
hope that this question is resolved fairly and
proportionately through further investigation
and verification rather than through allegations
in public forums and email lists.</span><br style="font-size:12.8px">
<br style="font-size:12.8px">
<span style="font-size:12.8px">With regard to the
second issue, we strongly agree that action
needs to be taken and look forward to assisting
the staff and the board with the development of
appropriate policies and procedures. Since NCUC
is a rights-focused stakeholder group, the
Executive Committee takes a principled stance
toward the issue and requests that any sexual
harassment policy must:</span><br style="font-size:12.8px">
<br style="font-size:12.8px">
<span style="font-size:12.8px"> a) be developed in
an atmosphere of impartial, open discussion in
which all viewpoints can be heard and respected;</span><br style="font-size:12.8px">
<span style="font-size:12.8px"> b) be based on
clear, unambiguous definitions of sexual
harassment that can be readily understood and
applied by all ICANN participants;</span><br style="font-size:12.8px">
<span style="font-size:12.8px"> c) respect the
privacy, procedural and substantive rights of
both the accuser and the accused</span><br style="font-size:12.8px">
<br style="font-size:12.8px">
<br style="font-size:12.8px">
<br style="font-size:12.8px">
<span style="font-size:12.8px">* A typical
definition of SH from U.S. law is: “Unwelcome
sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and
other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual
nature constitute sexual harassment when
submission to such conduct is made either
explicitly or implicitly a term or condition of
an individual's employment, submission to or
rejection of such conduct by an individual is
used as the basis for employment decisions
affecting such individuals, or such conduct has
the purpose or effect of unreasonably
interfering with an individual's work
performance or creating an intimidating,
hostile, or offensive working environment. (29
C.F.R. § 1604.11 [1980])</span><br>
</div>
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</div><div><br></div></div></div><span><font color="#888888"><div><div style="line-height:17.03px">Ayden Férdeline</div><div style="line-height:17.03px"><a href="tel:%2B44.77.8018.7421" value="+447780187421" target="_blank">+44.77.8018.7421</a></div></div><img style="border:0;width:0px;min-height:0px" src="https://app.mixmax.com/api/track/v2/5KM8nBo425Rtt29rI/gIt92YuwWah12ZAVWbpR3cvhmI/IyZy9mLjV3Yu5yc0NXasB0czV3YzlGZtMWdj5mI/IyczV3YzlGZtMUVD5kI?sc=false" alt="" height="0" align="left" width="0">
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