WARNING: This article refers to sexual aggression and contains graphic details, and can affect those who have experienced sexual violence or knowing someone affected by it.
Almost a decade after the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) made gender violence and consent training mandatory for all the main junior teams, the centers of sexual assault in charge of teaching the players are having trouble participating in some franchises to participate, as CBC News has known.
The OHL Onside program was developed for Junior Hockey teams by two sexual aggression support centers in the province. The curriculum is delivered to each OHL team by local centers that are members of the coalition of Ontario Violation crisis (OCRCC).
The two -hour program was mandatory in 2016 and will be completed at the beginning of each season.
“When a program is labeled as mandatory, but there is little or no responsibility for participation or monitoring, it raises questions about the commitment of the League to significant prevention and education,” said Dina Haddish, coordinator of the members for the OCRCC.
“Without consistent application and evaluation, these initiatives run the risk of becoming performative, serving more as public relations tools than as genuine efforts to change culture, address the development of damage players or support.”
Haddish’s comments occur when the sexual aggression trial of five former Junior hockey players of the Canadian world is underway in London. The five are accused of participating in sexual acts with a woman without her consent while they are in London in 2018 to celebrate the gold medal they won at the beginning of the year.
Em, the plaintiff whose identity is protected under a standard publication prohibition, has testified that she consented to a man at the London hotel, but not with the rest. One of the players recorded two videos of the woman at the end of the night, saying that she consented to everything. The woman testified that she does not remember to have made the videos.
“Throughout this trial, it has become clearer and clearer that there is a fundamental misunderstanding about consent,” said Haddish. “The notion that consent is something that can be captured once, such as a verification box that must be marked before participating in sexual activities, it is obviously false.”
The sexual aggression trial of five former Junior hockey players of the Canadian world in London, Ontario, focuses on the issue of consent, what is and what is not. Legal experts say that some people trust the ‘consent videos’, such as the two played in court. The five defendants declared themselves innocent.
Haddish said that several centers of sexual aggression have told him that they face “continuous challenges to involve their local teams.”
“While the intention has been to deliver sessions annually, in some areas, only a limited number has occurred in recent years,” Haddish told CBC News. “Common problems include difficulties for programming, inconsistent communication and obtaining clear commitments around time and compensation. These barriers have made it difficult to deliver the program consistently in all regions.”
Training given ‘At least once a year,’ says Ohl
Even so, OHL’s communication director says that the ONSIDE program is mandatory for all teams.
“In addition to the ONSIDE training, which all players receive at least once a year, OHL players participate in the first training players. This is a five -module league training program that is made up of videos and discussions led by team that addresses all OHL’s policies, programs, programs and procedures,” said Josh Sweetland in an email. “This includes areas such as the code of conduct, abuse, the policy of protection and prevention of harassment and harassment, and the league report systems.”
The League is discussing next year’s program with OCRCC, which includes “how we could reassess how we better offer education to our players” or if there are “opportunities for improvement,” Sweetland said.
The OHL is still “totally committed” to the Onside program, wrote Ohl Commissioner Bryan Crawford in an email. “The teams are not allowed to give up completing training.”
The number 1 team in the OHL, the Knights of London, is making a race for this year’s memorial cup, the main national junior hockey championship. The team is based in the city of southwest Ontario, where the 2018 world team attended a Canada Hockey gala and where the trial is ongoing.
The gentlemen have not contacted Anova, an agency that advocates for gender violence and has previously delivered the Onside program to the Knights, in several years, said Allison Preyde, Coordinator of Prevention and Education of Anova.
Preyde said: “2022 was the last time they reserved us with them to present. It’s worrying.”
“The ONSIDE program was unique because it was a relationship that OHL builds with local centers of sexual aggression, and it was a really intentional relationship with the centers that understood the local community and the different dynamics.”
The general assistant manager of the Knights declined to comment for this article.
Sweetland, however, said that the gentlemen have been receiving a different but comparable training through the London Abused Women’s Center, which is not a member of the OCRCC, after obtaining the league permission.
“They have been great partners to provide our players training in this important area.”
The London Abused Women’s Center told CBC News that he has delivered a one -hour training program for players with the understanding that gentlemen were still taking mandatory training.
Sweetland said the decision to allow gentlemen to choose not to participate in the official OHL training, anterior OHL commissioner. Crawford told CBC News that the Knights, together with the US teams.
OHL teams have to provide documentation to the League that players have completed mandatory training, Sweetland said.
But the League must make more investments in the program, said Haddish, and create mechanisms to keep teams that do not question training.
“This should be a clear call for greater investment, constant application and reflexive expansion,” he said.
“You cannot expect programs like this to create a significant change when they are limited to a single two -hour workshop. That type of time restriction does not allow the depth of relationship construction, reflection and dialogue necessary to change mentalities or equip players to challenge the culture of rape.”
One of the five men in trial in London is Alex Formenton, who played for the knights from 2016 to 2019.
Formenton, Michael McLeod, Carter Hart, Dillon Dubé and Cal Fote are accused of a position of sexual assault. McLeod is also accused of being a party in the crime for allegedly inviting his teammates to come to his hotel room for group sex with a woman without his consent. The five men declared themselves innocent.
The ONSIDE program was launched as a “avant -garde initiative” between OHL and OCRCC. Its objective is to increase the “understanding and awareness of the player’s responsibility to demonstrate respect for women through their actions and words.”
If you are in immediate or fears for your safety or that of others around you, call 911. To obtain support in your area, you can search for local crisis and services through the Finish the database of the Canada Violence Association.
