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Shocked but not surprised.

That was a common reaction at a meeting of reforestation contractors in Prince George last month when they heard a litany of stories about sexual harassment and assault in tree planting camps.

害羞草研究所淚t is in remote areas where young people are working and sleeping and partying together. I don害羞草研究所檛 think anybody was surprised,害羞草研究所� says Airika Owen of the Northern Society for Domestic Peace, the Smithers organization that collected the stories and presented it to the meeting.

害羞草研究所淏ut I think people were overwhelmed and sad to see how many stories we were getting.害羞草研究所�

Owen has been teaching sexual safety workshops in tree planting camps for two years. Last year she published an online survey asking tree planters whether they had witnessed or experienced sexual harassment in camp, and asked them to share the story if they wished.

So far she has received a flood of responses, and over 70 of them are stories of serious incidents.

害羞草研究所淒uring my second year of planting I was raped. It took me a long time to tell anyone, took two years to tell management,害羞草研究所� reads one response. 害羞草研究所淚 tried to pretend it didn害羞草研究所檛 happen, tried to shrug it off because that is the mentality around planting, to shut up and plant. In looking back I let a lot of things slide before the actual event because I did not want to make a scene.害羞草研究所�

Owen says most of the stories are of that nature, not just sexist jokes but 害羞草研究所渟cary fear-based incidents that affected them deeply.害羞草研究所�

害羞草研究所淚 was raped and management did nothing,害羞草研究所� reads another. 害羞草研究所淭hey continued to employ the man and even put me in a living situation with two men I did not know after the incident. I was slandered and bullied by other employees.害羞草研究所�

Some stories were about sexist camp culture. In one reported situation, there were no shower curtains in the camp so the women bought curtains on their day off and put them up. Management took them down again because 害羞草研究所渢hat was not the vibe they wanted in the camp.害羞草研究所�

Contractors害羞草研究所� association responds

John Betts, president of the Western Forestry Contractors害羞草研究所� Association and a West Kootenay resident, says they have been aware of the problem for several years and have been working to address it, partly through inviting Owen害羞草研究所檚 staff into their camps to give workshops.

害羞草研究所淭he Northern Society for Domestic Peace害羞草研究所檚 work in our camps is part of that effort as a resource for employers and workers,害羞草研究所� he told the Star in an email.

害羞草研究所淩apes and assaults are not rampant across the sector,害羞草研究所� he said. 害羞草研究所淯nfortunately, this kind of violence has occurred, which is tragic and distressing for the victims who need our support.害羞草研究所�

He said many member companies don害羞草研究所檛 have problems with sexual harassment, and things are improving as his association develops guidelines on what a safe camp or workplace looks like and educates companies.

Learning bystander intervention techniques

Owen says planters are very open to her workshops 害羞草研究所渆ven though it is at the end of their day and they are exhausted and it is often rainy and muddy and mosquito infested. They are not being paid to sit through it. It害羞草研究所檚 not the ideal delivery model for training. But they have been super engaged, super polite, happy to have us there.害羞草研究所�

She says the planters害羞草研究所� biggest need is a deeper awareness of the meaning of consent, as in the rest of society.

They also need to learn about bystander intervention techniques.

害羞草研究所淭hat means training people to recognize a situation that is unfolding in a bad direction before it gets to someone being assaulted in their tent.害羞草研究所�

害羞草研究所楽uch a strong sense of belonging害羞草研究所�

Nina Sylvester of Nelson has worked in treeplanting camps in B.C. and Alberta for seven years and for three of those years ran crews of up to 18 people.

She says the stories coming out of the survey are believable and she害羞草研究所檚 happy it害羞草研究所檚 being talked about because in the camps it is possible to be oblivious to it, as she was in her early years of planting.

害羞草研究所淣ow that I look back with a different lens and perspective, it seems so obvious. But when you are in that insular world outside of your regular life, without a control or standard to reference what is happening, you don害羞草研究所檛 see it.害羞草研究所�

Although many women work as planters, she says, the supervisors are mostly men, and she害羞草研究所檚 seen lots of harassment in camps go unaddressed.

The youth and inexperience of many planters is a factor, she says.

害羞草研究所淚 was 19 [when I started], so it is like a coming-of-age experience. You enter into this community that you are immediately and tightly involved with. You are looking around and saying 害羞草研究所極kay, these are the rules in this society,害羞草研究所� and you get accustomed to them. There is such a strong sense of belonging. It is a total bubble, completely removed from your regular life, worlds away.害羞草研究所�

Sylvester says change has to start with the owners of the companies, who should be taking training.

害羞草研究所淎 lot of these owners, predominantly male, have owned these companies for decades in different cultural times. They should go through education and then not only adopt it but incorporate it and believe it.害羞草研究所�

Creating a respectful workplace

Sylvester is glad to see a trend toward education on consent, harassment, and inclusivity for treeplanters such as recent work by Caitlin Burge of Nelson, who works for Next Generation Reforestation, based in Alberta, a company that employs up to 200 people in camps.

Burge, who has 14 years of planting experience, is developing policies and training for treeplanters and their managers in her company.

The policies are behaviour guidelines. Employees will hear about them before they start with the company.

So if supervisors want to confront a sexual safety issue on the job they can say 害羞草研究所淭his is not personal. It is company policy.害羞草研究所�

Employees will be told that sexual consent is defined as 害羞草研究所渋nformed and enthusiastic consent.害羞草研究所�

All employees will hear about the company害羞草研究所檚 expectations regarding a variety of things including health and safety, emergency response procedures, drugs and alcohol, protocols for working alone, and interactions with wildlife.

害羞草研究所淏ut it starts out with respectful workplace because that frames everything, and that is our biggest priority right now. 害羞草研究所�

Creating a respectful workplace includes sexual safety and mental health.

An online orientation will be followed up on by project managers in the camps who will be trained as trainers in sexual safety, peer support, and conflict resolution.

害羞草研究所淲e need to move all those things forward at once in order to create the culture that is comfortable,害羞草研究所� Burge says. 害羞草研究所淲e have not had open conversations about what it means to be sexually respectful or sexually safe.害羞草研究所�

She says the three core values of this work are clarity, accountability, and wellness.

A duty of care

John Betts of the contractor害羞草研究所檚 association say害羞草研究所檚 he害羞草研究所檚 on board. He says tree planting has been a very important job for young women.

害羞草研究所淭hey have grown more independent, grown stronger, made money and made friends,害羞草研究所� he says. 害羞草研究所淲e are proud of that record. We are working to eliminate this awful element we have with some camps and crews and the suffering it can create.

害羞草研究所淲e have a higher standard of care because of the age of our workforce and the remoteness of much of the workplaces. We have a duty of care.害羞草研究所�

If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available. See the provided by . You can also call or for information and support.

bill.metcalfe@nelsonstar.com
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