Wednesday, May 11, 2016
Queen’s University expert Jill Scott is available to comment on the apology issued by former radio host Jian Ghomeshi. Mr. Ghomeshi was allowed to issue the apology and agree to a peace bond - barring contact between himself and his accuser – in exchange for criminal charges being dropped.
“He is thorough in terms of admitting his wrongdoing and acknowledging the harm caused,” says Dr. Scott. “If I have points of critique it is in terms of him saying what he would be to make amends or work toward changing his behaviour in a concrete way. I also wonder whether those affected would agree when he says he now understands.”
“Sexual violence survivors might say that he couldn’t possibly understand the long-term psychological impacts of this trauma,” Dr. Scott adds. “Finally, he doesn’t acknowledge the larger social impact of having someone who had such a huge public presence engage in sexual violence against women. The message that this sends to men is huge. He needs now to do something spectacular in terms of public education around sexual violence prevention in order to atone.”
Dr. Jill Scott is a professor in the Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures and the Department of Gender Studies. Her research focuses, amongst other topics, on conflict resolution, restorative and transitional justice, forgiveness and reconciliation. She is available for print and radio interviews only.
To arrange an interview, please contact communications officer Chris Armes (613-533-6000 ext. 77513 or chris.armes@queensu.ca) or Anne Craig (613-533-2877 or anne.craig@queensu.ca) at Queen’s University News and Media Services Department in Kingston, Ont., Canada.
Follow Queen’s News and Media Services on Twitter: http://twitter.com/QueensuMedia.
Attention broadcasters: Queen’s has facilities to provide broadcast quality audio and video feeds. For television interviews, we can provide a live, real-time double ender from Kingston with HD-SDI. Please call for details.