On Gender and the Prevention of Harm

Miksang image by Charles Blackhall

Mary Whetsell is the Director of the Shambhala Office of Societal Health & Wellbeing, and is the Chairperson of the Ad Hoc Panel on Gender and the Prevention of Harm in Shambhala. In her professional life as a psychologist, she has worked extensively with rape victims and survivors of sexual abuse, as well as patients who have experienced other types of trauma and have developed Post-traumatic Stress Disorder. She chairs the panel which consists of Jane Arthur, Charlene Leung, Dan Peterson and herself.

Times: What was the impetus for forming the Panel on Gender and Prevention of Harm?

Mary Whetsell: The Sakyong has asked us all to place much greater emphasis on developing strong communities at our city and land centers, with the cornerstone being an intentional focus on increasing deep and unconditional kindness towards one another. It follows that our communities must be places where everyone feels respected, valued and safe from harassment of any sort. Of particular concern to this panel is how we work with power differentials in Shambhala so that appropriate role boundaries are understood by our leaders and teachers, as well as by those whom they lead or teach. This creates a safe growth and practice environment for everyone.

Times: Why the emphasis on gender along with prevention of harm?

MW: Statistics tell us that one out of 6 women will experience sexual assault or attempted sexual assault at some point in their lives. This compares to one out of 33 men. Additionally, an estimated one out of 10 women will get PTSD at some time in their lives, with women about twice as likely as men to develop PTSD. This may be due to the fact that women tend to experience interpersonal violence (such as domestic violence, rape or abuse) more often than men. While there has not been a report of outright rape within Shambhala, reports about sexual behavior that is inappropriate and causes harm do occur.

To date, all complaints of this type have been brought against male teachers/leaders. We have never received a complaint about sexual impropriety lodged against a female teacher or leader. This means that women, and especially young women, are at higher risk than men for experiencing sexual overtures from teachers/leaders in Shambhala. They are also far more likely to arrive at our doors having experienced sexual trauma in their lives, and are thus significantly more vulnerable. (See Shambhala Times article “The Silence is Broken” published on 8/3/14).

Times: What do we know about the harm caused by sexual boundary violations on the part of teachers and leaders?

MW: In the situations that have been brought to our attention, the degree of harm caused varied. On one end of the continuum, we know of women who have left Shambhala in a great deal of distress and who told no one for quite some time about their experience. In their cases, there is a loss of trust for Shambhala, a loss of their dharma community and not infrequently self-blame and depression. At the other end of the continuum, entire communities have been traumatized by the inappropriate behavior of a teacher or leader whom they believed to be trustworthy. These communities are left to deal with deep disappointment and sadness. In some cases, divisiveness, blame and tremendous instability occur that can last for a very long time.

Times: How does the Panel plan to work with this situation?

MW: Our task is to develop recommendations for prevention, education and policy regarding sexual boundary violations. We also want to make recommendations about how to best help all concerned, including the person who caused the harm, the person harmed and their community. To this end, we will be holding “Town Hall” phone conferences through the fall of 2014 in which we invite interested Shambhala members to bring forth their suggestions and ideas. These calls will be focused on how to move forward as a mandala as opposed to reporting specific cases. Once the calls have taken place, our Panel will write a report and share our recommendations. Those who would like to join the conference calls should note that individual cases will absolutely not be discussed on these calls. Our first two calls will be on:

Times: How do I sign up to attend a Town Hall conference call?

MW: In order to receive call-in information for this call, please email our panel at Virtue.Shambhala@gmail.com. Your membership in Shambhala will be verified and the conference call call-in number and code will be emailed to you. You may remain anonymous on the call if you wish. Additionally, this gmail account can be used to offer ideas you may have on this issue.

Times: If someone wishes to make a report about a specific situation, how would they go about doing this?

MW: If you have a specific complaint about your experience within Shambhala you can contact your Center Director, Center Rusung, and/or Center Desung. You may also directly contact the International Care and Conduct Panel by emailing the Desung Care and Conduct Officer, Dan Peterson, at peterhana.dan@gmail.com.

Times: Who are the other Panel members?

MW: Shastri Charlene Leung is the Chairperson of the Shambhala International Diversity Working Group. Dan Peterson is the Desung Care and Conduct Officer on the International Care and Conduct Panel, and works closely with the other two Panel members, John Sennhauser and Acharya Emily Bower. Jane Arthur is the former Director of Karme Choling and also the Boulder Shambhala Center. She currently serves as the Director of Residential and Retreat Centers.

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In order to receive call-in information for upcoming Town Hall Conference call, please email the panel at Virtue.Shambhala@gmail.com