Vancouver Island University has found itself embroiled in a human rights complaint over an adult male student who favoured diapers, the writings of Beatrix Potter and baby talk.
The human rights complaint was filed by Katrin Roth, VIU’s former director of human rights and workplace safety.
In it, she alleges the Nanaimo university failed to adequately support and protect professors, staff and students who were threatened by the middle-age man’s infantilist sexual fetishes.
One woman became so concerned she had her husband accompany her to a night class.
Another became frightened because it became obvious the man was watching her come and go from the university.
The Times Colonist is not identifying the man, but has reached out to him for comment.
The man’s alleged behaviour is chronicled in the 105-page complaint to the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal.
In 2015, the complaint says, the man submitted as part of an English essay a photo of himself partially nude, save for a diaper. In the picture, he is pointing to a dirty diaper.
He asked for children’s books like those of Beatrix Potter and asked to be read to, the complaint says.
He twice asked the university nurse practitioner to change his dirty diapers (she refused the second time).
He communicated in childish, baby talk, the complaint says, citing the example of an email to an English teacher. The man opened the message with “Hewoh” and wrote of enjoying the day’s stories, “especially the pee pee part!”
In the same email, the complaint says, he said: “I sometimes call people poo poo heads,” explaining that he doesn’t like to swear and enjoyed alliteration.
It’s unclear whether the man is still a student at Vancouver Island University.
The tribunal has refused to hear Roth’s complaint as it was submitted, but she has been given an opportunity to make changes and resubmit.
Shelley Legin, the university’s chief financial officer and vice-president of administration, said the university is confident it took all appropriate actions to maintain safety for everyone on campus.
Legin resisted offering any specifics about the case, citing privacy concerns, but said VIU hired a legal expert, who acknowledged the university acted appropriately.
“We will follow our procedures and policies, our risk-mitigation protocols and risk assessment protocols to make sure we continue to make [VIU] a great place to learn,” she said.
In an email exchange with the Times Colonist, Roth made it plain neither she, nor any of the afflicted women, have any interest in “outing the man.”
“We believe the adult male needs professional psychological help,” wrote Roth in an email.
“The case is about his behaviour, the imposition of his fetish on non-consenting women at the university and the inadequacy of the university’s response to the concerns of those women.”
Richard Watts / Times Colonist
rwatts@timescolonist.com