About Respect at Saint Mary's

Declaration of Respect

Saint Mary's University Inclusive Language Statement

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• What is "respect"?
• What is a "Respectful and Inclusive Environment"?
• Some of the benefits of a "Respectful Environment"
• What students can do
• What faculty and staff can do
• Discrimination
• Harassment
• Sexual harassment
• Personal harassment
• Bullying
• Cyberbullying

 

What is "respect"?

1. regard with esteem and honor
2. avoid interfering with, harming, degrading, insulting, injuring or interrupting; treat with consideration; refrain from offending, corrupting or tempting (a person, a person's feelings etc.) (The Concise Oxford Dictionary)

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A "Respectful and Inclusive Environment" is one in which ALL:

• are treated with fairness, respect and dignity
• feel accepted, comfortable and safe
• have some autonomy and independence
• have respect for diverse views and cultures
• value privacy and confidentiality
• live without discrimination and harassment
• refrain from offending
• avoid interfering with, harming, degrading, insulting, injuring or interrupting

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Some of the benefits of a "Respectful Environment" are:

• increased lines of communication
• people are encouraged to excel, take risks and to grow
• increased creativity, morale and diversity
• shared values of cooperation, collaboration and support
• reduced absenteeism/decreased turnover
• job satisfaction/increased productivity

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What students can do:

• see "Respectful University Community" as his/her own responsibility
• know your rights
• identify your feelings
• identify and address inappropriate behaviour/harassment. Speak out for someone else. Encourage others to participate as well.
• take the initiative to talk to someone if it looks like they are under stress
• make a habit of positive feedback. Find a way that enables you to remember to give positive feedback
• be supportive of others
• role model respectful behaviors. Remember: what you do is more powerful than what you say

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What faculty and staff can do:

• develop knowledge and awareness. Examine your own attitudes, beliefs and biases
• identify behaviours that can be considered harassment
• examine the language you use
• understand the effects that harassment has on people
• challenge discriminating/harassing jokes and remarks
• promote the concept that harassment of any type is a form of discrimination and will not be tolerated
• develop inclusive material
• discuss our organizations policies and procedures relate to harassment
• model respectful behaviour

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Discrimination:

Discrimination is an act of unequal treatment and can result in different treatment that imposes a burden, limits access to opportunities and results in the exclusion of an individual or a group from their entitled human rights.

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Harassment:

Harassment is behaviour that is known or ought to be known as unwelcome directed at a person or group of persons, which causes adverse consequences and harm through a loss of personal respect and dignity or which negatively affects the work or learning environment. Harassment can include remarks, jokes or actions which demean or humiliate another person and which deny individual their dignity and respect.

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Sexual harassment:

Sexual harassment is discrimination of the basis of gender. Sexual harassment can include behaviours such as unwanted touching or patting, suggestive remarks or verbal abuse, compromising invitations, demands for sexual favours or sexual assault which is a criminal offence.

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Personal harassment:

Personal harassment is not necessarily based on any of the grounds protected by human rights legislation but is generally abusive, insulting, bullying or derogatory behaviour. It is behaviour that humiliates, intimidates, excludes and isolates an individual or group.

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Bullying:

Bullying is typically a form of repeated, persistent, and aggressive behaviour directed at an individual or individuals that is intended to cause (or should be known to cause) fear and distress and/or harm to another person’s body, feelings, self-esteem, or reputation. Bullying occurs in a context where there is a real or perceived power imbalance.

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Cyberbullying:

Cyberbullying is the use of e-mail, instant messaging, chat rooms, pagers, cell phones, or other forms of information technology to deliberately harass, threaten, or intimidate someone.

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