About the Grievance Council
Current members: Ben Boehm, Emily Royce, Dan Powers, Helena Laughton, Katie Sarra, Lucia Pavone, Stella Sonnenbaum, Steve Oskard, Wendy Schreich. Co-Chairs: Ailsa Keppie & Kian de la Cour.
Contact: ethics@sexologicalbodyworkers.org
Section I: Preamble / Statement of Intent
As a community, we are creating a Learning, Repair & Accountability Process that strives to support our practitioners, students, clients and community-at-large as we all tend to the healing and wellness of the individuals, communities and cultures in our midst. We have rooted this Accountability Process in the community-building philosophies and practices of restorative and transformative justice while also, when necessary, taking guidance from the adjudication model, enabling us to create effective and immediate containers of safety. We acknowledge that the intimate and vulnerable nature of Sexological Bodywork® (SB) and Somatic Sex Education (SSE) requires that we – the practitioners in these fields – conduct ourselves with great attention to our integrity, developing our capacity for self-observation and accountability as we shape ourselves around our commitment to structures of community/supervisory support and transparency of practice.
In creating this Learning, Repair & Accountability Process we acknowledge a number of things that guide us, inspire us, and humble us:
This is an emergent, co-creative process, not a finalized form; but it serves as a strong beginning, one that is capable of holding all of us well, as we create intelligent pathways and refine practices through challenging and inspiring community processes
We strive to move away from the current carceral model when attending to potential and perceived harm within our community; in its place we embrace, among other methods and processes, the Restorative/Transformative Justice model of care, repair, and learning/evolving
We strive to create systems of care, repair and learning that reflect our values as a community; that we are stronger together, more ethical and effective when we support and listen to each other, with positive regard and respect, refusing to ‘other’ or cancel, shame or blame anyone, for any reason, at any time
Sexological Bodywork® and Somatic Sex Education are evolving professions; we imagine many of us will cross a boundary as we continue to refine and define the parameters of our work, and, because we are all fallible, and in this fallibility, capable of causing great harm even unintentionally, we strive to create an Learning, Repair & Accountability Process that, when necessary, can act with compassionate decisiveness, to create boundaries of safety against further harm within which repair and learning can take place
As a community of care and service we subscribe to the belief that harm does not happen in a vacuum; that harm is made possible by gaps and tears in the community fabric. Therefore, we do not subscribe to the belief that there are bad people and good people; when harm is done we recognize that it wounds all involved, including the harmer and the community. Therefore, we strive to create systems of care and repair that encourage 360º accountability while attending to the necessary healing when a violation has occurred
This process is offered to create safety – as well as the opportunity for growth and learning – for our clients and students and well as our practitioners and our community at large
Additionally, this Learning, Repair & Accountability Process is created in hopes that this structure supports the continued branding and development of Sexological Bodywork® and Somatic Sex Education within the larger healing profession worldwide; evidence of our commitment to ethical, evidenced-based work within a structure of responsibility and accountability for our practitioners and students
This Learning, Repair & Accountability Process is organic and growing; as we learn with each other and continue to define and refine our processes, the Grievance Council will receive complaints on a case by case basis. We will address grievances with the intention of healing and community deepening - of repair and learning and evolving for the profession as a whole as we continue to learn and grow.
Section II: Grievance Council Membership & Responsibilities
The ACSB Grievance Council (Grievance Council) will comprise 6 -12 members total.
Participation on the Grievance Council is voluntary. Further, to participate on the Grievance Council one must be a trained facilitator (by an Ethics Committee-approved restorative justice facilitation or mediation training program, including in-house mentorship through participation in Grievance Council, and/or participation as witnesses in active grievance processes). Each Grievance Council member must be approved in a majority vote by the standing members of the Ethics Board.
In order to be considered for membership on the Grievance Council, interested persons will be required to be sponsored or recommended by a current or past member of the Grievance Council or Ethics Committee. If you are currently either a Complainant or a Practitioner Under Review (PUR) in an active grievance, you are not eligible to be a member of the Grievance Council until that process has been completed.
All members of the Grievance Council agree to participate under strict confidentiality. This means that any information received by a Facilitating Grievance Council, relating to the active grievance they are facilitating, is never to be shared or referred to with any persons beyond the Grievance Council and the Ethics Committee Chairperson(s). This includes members of the ACSB Executive and General Board and the Ethics Committee at large. Any breach of confidentiality will result in immediate termination of the member’s participation in the Grievance Council and may be subject to further action including a restorative justice process to address the possible harm this breach of confidentiality may have caused.
When a complaint is received by the Grievance Council Chair, and it is determined that the Preliminary Grievance Statement reflects a breach of the current ACSB Code of Conduct & Ethics, the formal process of inquiry and learning begins. A single member, or members, of the Grievance Council are selected to facilitate the process to its conclusion (please refer to the section Establishing the Grievance Council for details about how members are chosen to facilitate cases). It is expected that the Facilitating Grievance Council (FGC) will remain in the Facilitating Grievance Council role through the conclusion of the case. However, if a situation arises that precludes their continued facilitation, ideally the Facilitating Grievance Council will select their replacement and brief the new Facilitating Grievance Council for a smooth transition. However, if that is not possible, the Grievance Council Chair(s) will organize a replacement. The Grievance Council will extend every possible care to ensure that those harmed – the complainant(s) – will be held in a container of continued care through any such transition.
Members of the Grievance Council serve for two years. If a situation arises such that a Facilitating Grievance Council member is facilitating a process that extends beyond the Facilitating Grievance Council member’s term, this will be handled on a case by case basis. In this circumstance it is permissible for the Facilitating Grievance Council member to choose to remain on the Grievance Council beyond the two-year term, in order to see the process to its conclusion. Equally, it is permissible that an Facilitating Grievance Council member choose to step down at the termination of their two year service, in which case it will be their responsibility to brief the newly appointed Facilitating Grievance Council member.
As the ACSB body responsible for facilitating the repair and healing of breaches in our profession, the integrity of the individual members of the Grievance Council is paramount as is the integrity of the Grievance Council itself. Every attempt and consideration has been made to hold the Grievance Council to the highest standards. In keeping with this, if a Preliminary Grievance Statement is submitted against a currently standing member of the Grievance Council, that individual will be asked to temporarily suspend their role in the Grievance Council (in this situation, a Grievance Council member who is named in - or submits - a Preliminary Grievance Statement, may chose to shift their volunteer service to an ACSB Committee). Upon completion of the process, pending majority agreement of the Ethics Committee and the Grievance Council, the individual may immediately resume their role on the Grievance Council. However, if a Preliminary Grievance Statement is submitted against a currently standing member of any other Board position, it is possible that the individual might remain in their position and continue their responsibilities and projects while the Learning, Repair & Accountability Process proceeds. There may be exceptions to this, depending on the nature of the statement of harm, the role of the Practitioner Under Review/board member and other factors.
The Grievance Council strives for its membership to accurately represent the diversity within the ACSB membership at large, including gender/non-binary reprepresentation, diversity of ability, BIPOC representation, cultural diversity, global teaching staff representation, diversity regarding length of time in the SB/SSE fields and representation from the global student body of Sexological Bodywork® and Somatic Sex Education.
Structural & Operational Details Regarding the Grievance Council
When the Grievance Council Chair receives a Preliminary Grievance Statement, and the Practitioner Under Review and Complainant(s) are identified, the case will be brought to the Grievance Council at large. Individual Grievance Council members will declare any and all existing relationships with persons involved as well as any circumstances that may interfere with their capacity to proceed in keeping with the responsibilities bestowed upon the Grievance Council at large and specifically, the role and obligations of the Facilitating Grievance Council. This includes any conflicts of interest.
Conflicts of Interest Within a Transformative Justice model: We define ‘conflict of interest’ as a relational power dynamic existing between members of the Grievance Council and Practitioner Under Review and/or Complainants that could impede the process. These relationships may include (but are not limited to) employment relationships, practitioner/client relationships, intimate/sexual relationships and personal biases held by one party in relation to another. The evaluation of a possible conflict of interest must include the perceived equanimity of the Facilitating Grievance Council members. However, regarding conflicts of interest, it is important to bear in mind that it is a fundamental tenet of Transformative Justice that the healing and repair processes be handled by the community and within the community. Community often involves a spectrum of familiarity from vague acquaintanceship to daily intimacy. It is not expected that the Facilitating Grievance Council members have no prior knowledge or first-hand experience with either the Practitioner Under Review or the Complainant. It is simply expected and required that the Facilitating Grievance Council members be able to bring themselves with equanimity and open-mindedness to the situation of harm in question. It might be possible that a Grievance Council member believes they can act without bias and in an equitable manner, yet if they are known to have a relationship with the Practitioner Under Review or the Complainants, this may appear to be a bias in the process at large; one that would negatively affect the perceived safety and integrity of not only this specific case but the Grievance Process as a whole. In the event of a conflict of interest the member(s) of the Grievance Council will be asked to step back from direct participation in the specific process and will recuse themselves from participation in all aspects of the process. This member of the Grievance Council may be invited to participate in non-decision-making aspects of the process including sitting in Affinity Circles, as members of an Affinity Pod or as a source of information in the Discovery Circles process. Having said this, it is a specific situation of unquestioned exclusion if a Grievance Council member is in a monetary relationship or an active sexually intimate relationship with either the Practitioner Under Review or the Complainant.
If a grievance is brought against either a current instructor from a Sexological Bodywork® and Somatic Sex Education certifying institution, or the owner of an independent business employing multiple individuals and working primarily in a group setting, the Grievance Council will (make every attempt to) support the institution or business to handle this case themselves, following their own codes of conduct and ethics. If this is not possible, the Grievance Council will then make every effort to invite an instructor/employee from that institution/business, or a partnered institution, to serve as a witness to the process and/or as an affinity circle member.
Each Grievance Council member serves for a two year term with the exception of the student Grievance Council member, who serves for one. The Grievance Council will accept new member candidates yearly and conduct reviews/interviews semi-annually
The Ethics Committee will either hire an outside Restorative/Transformative or mediation trainer or provide an in-house trainer, to provide ongoing RJ / TJ / mediation facilitation training
When a complaint is submitted it is received by the Ethics Chair and the Grievance Council Chair, who will determine whether the Preliminary Grievance Statement represents a potential violation of the ACSB Code of Conduct & Ethics. If the Preliminary Grievance Statement does fall within the purview of the ACSB Learning, Repair & Accountability Process, the Ethics and Grievance Chairs will then bring the case to the Grievance Council at large to determine which Grievance Council member(s) are most appropriate to step in as Facilitating Grievance Council members. There will be every attempt to rotate the role of Facilitating Grievance Council members throughout each Grievance Council member’s two year term. This rotation is designed to allow the Facilitating Grievance Council members to follow through with complaints in process while also being able to receive new complaints in a timely manner. The Facilitating Grievance Council members will be with the complaint until it is complete (unless circumstances arise which preclude this) and will be empowered to make decisions and report back to the Grievance Council and the ACSB board
On a rotating basis, members of the Grievance Council will serve as the Grievance Council Chair, and will receive Preliminary Grievance Statements