As an organization committed to humanism, CFI Canada condemns sexual abuse and harassment in all its forms. Many of you are aware of the allegations of sexual misconduct recently brought against physicist Lawrence Krauss (https://www.buzzfeed.com/
Lawrence Krauss has been a guest speaker at a number of events that CFI Canada has presented and/or sponsored. CFI Canada is not aware of any unresolved incidents of sexual misconduct or other forms of harassment (sexual or otherwise) that have taken place at any events that CFIC has presented or sponsored. That being said, we would like to invite anyone who has experienced harassment or abuse at any of our events to let us know, with the assurance that confidentiality will be protected. CFIC staff and volunteers are committed to the terms laid out in our Code of Conduct (http://centreforinquiry.ca/
Thanks to our subscribers who wrote in after our interim publication in which we first acknowledged the link between #metoo and CFIC. We received a scathing criticism from one reader who believes that the reports are unsubstantiated rumors and allegations that do not bear repeating and from one reader who felt we were protecting a perpetrator of sexual harassment. We also received a letter thanking us for confronting today’s realities head on. (Regardless of the opinion, CFIC always wants to hear from our readers.)
CFIC’s Board of Directors is strongly in support of feminism. We are appalled when we learn of misogyny within our ranks or associated with the secular or skeptic communities to which we belong. We recognize that the “me too” movement will be a catalyst for broad changes which will improve the safety, opportunity and lives of women and girls.
As an organization committed to education in rationalism and critical thinking, CFIC believes that for all controversial issues, respectful dialogue is the key to exploring our differences and understanding what is happening in society. We would like to offer an opportunity for people to discuss questions regarding:
- the rationale behind CFI Canada’s position on #metoo in general and Lawrence Krauss in particular
- how to address the prevalent culture of misogyny in the world in general and in the humanist/atheist/skeptic movement in particular
- how best to prevent harassment, and how best to respond if/when it happens
We do acknowledge that our members have diverse views on the matter, and we will be taking steps to ensure that the dialogue remains respectful, even in the face of disagreement.