Misconduct complaints against the Dean of Law, Mark Henaghan
K Gillies made this Official Information request to University of Otago
The request was partially successful.
From: K Gillies
Dear University of Otago,
I reside in New Zealand. I request information under the Official Information Act 1982.
I request the number of complaints of misconduct against the Dean of Law Mark Henaghan. I also request that any complaints be broken up by year and that you provide details for any complaints that have happened during the entire time of Henaghan's employment at the University of Otago.
I request also that if there are any complaints that they be broken down into categories of: inappropriate or unwanted touching (1), unwelcome or harassing comments (2), requests or threats for favours of a sexual nature (3), coercion through threatening bad grades or promising good grades with a sexual component (4), harassment involving photos, emails or other digital technology(5), sexual assault (6) and rape (7).
I also request that if there are multiple complaints that you disclose how many complaint incidents occurred during the annual Law Camp.
I also request that if there are multiple complaints that you indicate how many were laid by employees or contractors working for the university and how many by students.
I also request to know if there has been any disciplinary action taken in response to Henaghan if any such complaints have been made.
If there have been complaint(s) about Henaghan I also request to know if he has been referred to a stopping violence/sexual harassment related support service for training.
If there are complaints which contain identifying details for the complainants we ask that you redact the identifying details and still release the information.
I also request that if any correspondence exists between Henaghan and any university officials advising Henaghan to depart the University of Otago and seek employment elsewhere that these correspondence(s) be released.
With regards to the manner in which the information is released I request that any documents released be in an accessible, searchable format, i.e. no pdf's of scanned documents that would require transcribing and that would not be readable to people who rely on screen readers. And a spreadsheet format, such as CSV or XLSX, is preferable for tabular data. I also request that documents be uploaded online to fyi.org.nz website in response to my request rather than sent privately.
I request this information urgently and as a matter of public interest as all students and staff should have their right to safety and dignity in work and education upheld. If staff or anyone is harassing or causing harm to others then it is a public concern especially given that sexual violence, harassment and coercion thrives in secrecy. I ask that you release this information as soon as practicably possible and no later.
I trust I will hear back promptly.
Yours faithfully,
K Gillies
From: University of Otago Registrar
University of Otago
Dear Ms Gillies,
There have been no complaints of this nature about any Law Faculty staff.
There is no correspondence to any Law Faculty staff urging them to leave the University.
Sincerely,
Jan Flood
Registrar
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From: K Gillies
Dear University of Otago Registrar,
Thank you for your response, Jan.
The official information act also covers information that an institution knows but has not yet written down. I therefore request if there is any known information within the Univeristy of Otago about Mark Henaghan and any other faculty of law staff having possibly behaved in any of the inappropriate ways outlined in my initial request. I request to know whether the univeristy is aware of any potential occurrences of misconduct whether fully confirmed or not. I request to know if any members of the university have received any informal disclosures from students, ex-students or other persons of misconduct from Henaghan or any other law faculty staff. I request this information whether these disclosures were lodged as formal complaints or not and whether these concerns were confirmed or not.
I also wish to clarify, I was not asking for information urging staff to leave but rather staff being suggested or advised that perhaps they should go elsewhere. I ask for any information about this whether it is from electronic or in person correspondence.
When providing information please provide it in the format as requested in the initial request.
Yours sincerely,
K Gillies
From: K Gillies
Dear University of Otago Registrar,
Given these multiple accounts of goings on it seems you have withheld information/answered inaccurately.
https://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/campu...
http://newzealand.lawfuel.com/mark-henag...
https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/...
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/articl...
I would like to further request that you disclose how many complaints have been made about the law faculty, the law society and/or the law camp, not just complaints against staff members. I would also like to know what the university was aware of with regards to the incidents accounted in this media coverage regardless of whether this information was written down, as the information act covers such information also.
I also request a record of any correspondences (in person or electronically) about the above incidents detailed in those reports (linked above), between the university and the Law Society president Mr Austen and between the university and ex Otago University law student Rachel Stedman if such correspondences have occurred.
I would remind the university that I am within my rights to complain to the ombudsman if such a response that is likely to be inaccurate like the previous one is sent again.
Please provide any information in the originally requested format outlined in my first message. Thank you.
Kind Regards,
K Gillies
From: University of Otago Registrar
University of Otago
Dear Ms Gillies,
I refer to your two communications of 5 March 2018, which followed my reply of that same day to your initial request dated 4 March 2018.
You suggest that my earlier response withheld information, or was inaccurate. I reject that suggestion and reaffirm that no complaints have been made about any of our Law Faculty staff.
I will reply to the further requests you now make in due course.
Sincerely,
Jan Flood
Registrar
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From: University of Otago Registrar
University of Otago
Dear Ms Gillies,
On 6 March 2018, I indicated that I would reply in due course to the further requests you had made by your second email of 5 March. A response will be able to be provided shortly, but for the reasons set out in section 15A(1)(b) of the Act it is necessary for me to notify an extension of time for doing so until Friday 13 April 2018. Under section 28(3) you are entitled to make a complaint to an Ombudsman in relation to this extension.
Sincerely,
Jan Flood
Registrar
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From: University of Otago Registrar
University of Otago
Dear Ms Gillies,
On 6 March 2018, I indicated that I would reply in due course to the further requests you made by your second email of 5 March.
For clarity, I summarise your further requests before providing responses to each of them:
(a) how many complaints have been made about the law faculty, the law society and/or the law camp;
The University has received no complaints about the Law Faculty or the Society of Otago University Law Students. In relation to the Law Camp the position is as follows. An article was published in the Otago Daily Times on 5 March 2018 reporting concerns held by a parent of a student who had attended the SOULS Law Camp in 2012. The article records that the parent had chosen not to complain, and that is consistent with the University's records. However, issues in connection with the Law Camp having been raised by the article, the University established an avenue by which anyone who wished to do so could communicate their experience of, or concerns in connection with, the Law Camp. The University has received a total of 11 communications about Law Camp, none of which was expressed as a formal complaint. The invitation to communicate with the University was to do so on a confidential basis, and the information supplied through that process would not be released. However, I expect some form of public comment to be made in due course when consideration of the material received is complete.
(b) what the university was aware of with regards to the incidents described in [four media articles referred to in the request], whether or not this information was written down;
I recognise that the Act extends to information that has not been reduced to writing, but it of course still applies only to information that is held officially by the relevant organisation and not to information of those associated with that organisation in their personal capacity. As well as being outside the scope of the Act, it would of course be impracticable for me to attempt to collate what may have been in the minds of the University's individual staff, of whom there are many thousands.
In relation to the four cited articles, I advise:
Articles 1,3 and 4. The University was not aware of the specific matters raised in these articles until they were published. As described above, the University has now sought further information about relevant matters.
Article 2. The University became aware of the specific matters in that article following its publication, and has no additional information beyond that published.
(c) any correspondences (in person or electronically) about the above incidents between the University and the persons named in your email message of 5 March 2018, if such correspondences have occurred.
The University holds no relevant correspondence with the individuals you name.
Sincerely,
Jan A Flood
Registrar
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