We are writing this text to address an issue that has been outstanding within our collective and which we do not wish to leave unresolved before we disband.
We wish to make it clear that one person within our collective has been sexually violent towards their former partner. Specifically, they failed to respect certain boundaries that had been mutually agreed between the two of them. Following this incident, the perpetrator is currently engaged in a process of reflection and learning, supported by therapy, to work through what happened, amongst other things. This process is ongoing.
As a group, we must take responsibility for failing to respond in good ways, particularly towards the person affected. From the outset, we took charge of the situation: the FLINTA* people with in our group spoke to the perpetrator, contacted organisations that could offer guidance and tried to react to the survivors messages. Unfortunately, rather than downplaying the issue, it was our own shortcomings and limitations as a collective that prevented us from providing a more effective response and showing accountability. This was due to a lack of adequate preparation for such circumstances, we additionally failed to hold cis-men within the group accountable to participate in the process and where facing internal conflict that distracted us from priotizing the process effectively. We would like to share our learning on the importance of being prepared for violence perpetrated by our comrades and against them, so that we know how to respond should such a situation arise.
As a collective, we were severely constrained in terms of both the number of members and the time available. Consequently, the collective has been unable to carry out its work since October. This has prevented us from identifying what we needed to work on in this area and respond to the needs of the survivor as they deserved it.
As our collective no longer exists, we are unable to pursue this matter further. However, those involved are in contact with one another and are addressing the issues.
We apologise for the delay in publishing this text and publicly apologise to the affected individual for experiencing this violence but also that the survivor had to fight for justice and did not receive the necessary support from us as a collective.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us? directly, and we will provide you with further details.
