MENASHA, Wis. (WBAY) - A leader of a men’s group dedicated to raising awareness of sexual assault and improving men’s behavior towards women says he’s remorseful after being forced to resign over his own behavior.
Shannon Kenevan was community engagement leader for Voices of Men.
Goodwill Industries of North Central Wisconsin, which runs the program, says two women in the community reported “behaviors that directly violate the mission, standards and expectations of Voices of Men.”
He was asked to resign immediately.
“The reported actions of our former community engagement leader are not in line with the standards set by our organization and our partners,” Voices of Men leadership team president Tom Berkedal said in a statement.
The organization was not more specific, but on his Facebook page Kenevan posted a lengthy apology, reading in part:
“I am writing this to say that I am no longer with Voices of Men because I’ve sexually harassed women — making them uncomfortable by using sexually suggestive language, being overly flirtatious, and pushing boundaries. I did not intend to cause harm, but the impact was harmful. This was made worse because of my leadership position within Voices of Men — both as someone who should uphold the high standard that Voices of Men stands for, and because I was given a higher level of trust because of that role, which likely gave me more ‘wiggle room’ for bad behavior as positions of power and privilege often do.”
Voices of Men was started by four domestic abuse and sexual assault agencies in the Fox Valley in 2007, encouraging men to take a bigger role in preventing domestic abuse. Goodwill NCW took over the program in 2016.
“The Voices of Men mission is to treat domestic abuse and sexual assault as a preventable matter, working to change the everyday attitudes, behaviors and language of boys and young men toward women, and create a culture of safety and dignity,” the statement reads.
In his apology, Kenevan says he developed “blind spots” in his behavior. “I did not see what I was doing as harmful, or maybe I minimized it.”
Kenevan became community engagement leader for Voices of Men in 2015. Before that, he co-founded Harmony Cafe and was Goodwill NCW’s leader of diversity and inclusion.
http://www.wbay.com/content/news/Le...gn-after-complaints-from-women-491035511.html
Shannon Kenevan was community engagement leader for Voices of Men.
Goodwill Industries of North Central Wisconsin, which runs the program, says two women in the community reported “behaviors that directly violate the mission, standards and expectations of Voices of Men.”
He was asked to resign immediately.
“The reported actions of our former community engagement leader are not in line with the standards set by our organization and our partners,” Voices of Men leadership team president Tom Berkedal said in a statement.
The organization was not more specific, but on his Facebook page Kenevan posted a lengthy apology, reading in part:
“I am writing this to say that I am no longer with Voices of Men because I’ve sexually harassed women — making them uncomfortable by using sexually suggestive language, being overly flirtatious, and pushing boundaries. I did not intend to cause harm, but the impact was harmful. This was made worse because of my leadership position within Voices of Men — both as someone who should uphold the high standard that Voices of Men stands for, and because I was given a higher level of trust because of that role, which likely gave me more ‘wiggle room’ for bad behavior as positions of power and privilege often do.”
Voices of Men was started by four domestic abuse and sexual assault agencies in the Fox Valley in 2007, encouraging men to take a bigger role in preventing domestic abuse. Goodwill NCW took over the program in 2016.
“The Voices of Men mission is to treat domestic abuse and sexual assault as a preventable matter, working to change the everyday attitudes, behaviors and language of boys and young men toward women, and create a culture of safety and dignity,” the statement reads.
In his apology, Kenevan says he developed “blind spots” in his behavior. “I did not see what I was doing as harmful, or maybe I minimized it.”
Kenevan became community engagement leader for Voices of Men in 2015. Before that, he co-founded Harmony Cafe and was Goodwill NCW’s leader of diversity and inclusion.
http://www.wbay.com/content/news/Le...gn-after-complaints-from-women-491035511.html
