A report outlining regular harassment at the Toronto Police Department could make it easier for some members seeking justice through tribunals and courts, said a lawyer representing the staff, who said she had been repeatedly harassed and humiliated because of her gender and ethnicity. .
But without taking the next step and holding individual officials accountable, changing the culture of the police force can be as difficult as ever, says Angelo Shiaka.
“I think the time for words is over. We heard the police make statements to the media. They can be just empty words. They need to take this report and put it into action, “he said in an interview.
Sciacca is a female police officer who is not identified by CTV News Toronto because she is concerned about more harassment. She passed as “Darya” as a pseudonym.
In February, Daria filed an amended petition with the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal alleging she had been a model of harassment for more than a decade. The Toronto Police Department denied her allegations in unofficial responses to the request, her lawyer said.
In an incident in March 2011, the complainant said that her partner had deliberately closed the car door at the feet of someone he had arrested. When she objected, he “hit her with full force on her left breast,” she said in the petition.
She claims that senior officials did not conduct a proper investigation, including to take pictures of her injury, and the Toronto Police Association told her not to press charges because she is a “rookie” and this will ruin her career.
“The applicant is expected to be attacked by male officers in order to keep her job,” the file said.
“When she reported the incident, she faced almost immediate repression. She was told not to go any further, she was called a rat and a liar, her car was locked and dog excrement was left on her windshield and it was in a police car park, “Sciacca said.
Darya, who is of Iranian descent, has been dubbed a “loner” for avoiding social gatherings on alcohol, colleagues have told her to take an English course as a second language, even though she speaks four languages fluently, and she has faced sexual comments about her body. its, says the app.
The documentation claims that the harassment she endured is systematic – and Scaccia says the report, published this week, could help him prove it in tribunal.
According to a survey commissioned by Deloitte from the Toronto Police Department, 60% of the 908 people surveyed said they had experienced or witnessed harassment or discrimination within the TPS in the past five years.
Source: Toronto Police Department
The report found that nearly one in four employees said they had witnessed or experienced harassment. About 24% witnessed and about 12% experienced sexual harassment. About 16% witnessed and about 22% experienced discrimination in the workplace.
Source: Toronto Police Department
The report is dated March 2022 and was published the same day that TPS apologized for systemic racism after its own data showed that it used more force against blacks and racists.
“Harassment and discrimination have no place in our organization,” TPS chairman Jim Hart said in a statement issued this week.
“The board and the service are committed to listening and doing better every day, and we remain committed to promoting a progressive and inclusive culture. We know this will benefit every member, as well as the communities we are very proud to serve. ”
The force said it had joined a working group on respectable police jobs, made up of 16 police officers from across the province, renewed the workplace harassment investigation process and added anti-harassment training for all supervisors and senior officials. More than 1,000 supervisors have completed this training so far.
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