Sixpo is a free festival organized by and for folks with disabilities, where topics related to relationships and sexual wellness are discussed. CAN was originally going to offer 2 workshops, Gender & Sexuality and Queer + Trans History Trivia, and have an in person Chronically Queer session. Unfortunately, we had to make the decision to pull out of the festival due to the festival’s multiple inaccessibility issues and their not keeping true to their values of creating a “supportive, collaborative and welcoming environment”.
Transparency is vital to our work. As such, we have decided to share our withdrawal letter in full here:
Creating Accessible Neighborhoods will not be offering any of our 3 events at Sixpo. CAN has previously shared our concerns regarding the many communication issues and mistakes that we experienced. These issues included:
• a lack of accessibility information about venues,
• email communication last minute with pressure tactics and lack of detail,
• being asked questions about confirmation of dates then finding out a date had already been posted online,
• having the promotional material list the wrong date,
• lack of information on invoicing,
• having our workshop description different to that of what we supplied,
• social media post targeting people who are not our main or stated audience,
• social media posts missing key details,
• and communication implying we would only be paid for 2/3 of our provided events.
We also just noticed that Sixpo has used a logo for our organization, on their website, under partners and sponsors, that has our old name, one we haven’t used for many years.
Yet another mistake that should never have happened. It is very poor representation. And as an organization that gave Sixpo funding, it in no way encourages us to do so in the future.
In addition to these serious issues, we have been aware of the many issues, inaccessibility, and bias that Harmony has been dealing with behind the scenes as Harmony is a key and
vital person at Creating Accessible Neighbourhoods. CAN (LET’S) was originally who brought Harmony onto the Sixpo project. The issues that Harmony continues to experience are
inexcusable, especially as we know Harmony works hard to address issues and actively work with people to find solutions. The way Harmony is being treated in no way aligns with the values of Creating Accessible Neighborhoods or the stated values of Sixpo. We are dismayed at how inaccessible the planning process has been to people with disabilities. We
strongly dislike that disabled people are being taken advantage of by using their time, labour, and energy without proper compensation. Again, this in no way aligns with our values. We know Harmony is quite able to fight for herself and has been doing so to no effect. We have stayed out of this fight as we believe in autonomy and choice. However, it has been an ongoing concern and we have seen the negative mental health consequences. No event for disabled people should put a disabled person through what Harmony has had to navigate.
One of our biggest concerns with Harmony’s experiences is how counter they are to the stated community agreements. For example, one community statement says: We don’t tolerate verbal or physical violence, sexual harassment, or discrimination at Sixpo. This is not true. Harmony has experienced ongoing discrimination as a queer, racialized, and disabled person. We have stood back and watched as she advocated for herself. We wanted to step in, but Harmony is a strong, independent person, and so we let her stand up for herself as we did our best to support her behind the scenes. The racism, ableism, and heterosexism she has experienced is very much the opposite of that of what is written on your website. I hope, before even thinking of putting on any future event, that education is taken and applied to learn how to live up to the stated community agreements and to have policies and consequences for when these agreements are not upheld. It is not enough to say the words, organizers must live up to them. And, when someone brings issues to light, the onus for addressing them should not be placed on their shoulders. This is a continuation of the original oppression. Expecting more time, labor, energy, and education from a person who’s already been negatively impacted and made to feel less than is not acceptable. Having a person not feel safe in your space is not acceptable. There are many ways you can work to do better.
Another concern of ours was the use of disabled people without payment – and with a lack of follow-through on the small amount of payment that was promised to some. It is
important that the work we do models how other organizations and event planners should run their events. Disabled people should not be expected to work for free. This event received funding. This funding should have included livable hourly rates for disabled people. Volunteers hours are definitely a part of event planning but there were volunteers who have put in more hours and energy than those who were paid, and this is not fair or sustainable. This is also quite ableist as disabled people are expected to work based on passion. And yet their passion is often because they know how important these events are because it personally impacts them. Using passion to ask for time and labor without payment is a continuation of ableist practices.
The last straw was hearing that a speaker had been removed from the schedule without any notice. This is unacceptable. We must prioritize our members. The shifting around and
cancelling of events should not happen after a program has been printed. We do want to invite our members to an event that might promise something different to what is actually happening. We realize that our cancelling does change the schedule, but we feel it is important to stand by our morals and not participate in an event that may not live up to the accessibility or programming that it promises. We do not want to encourage participants, and our own members, to attend such a dysfunctional event.
I hope that Sixpo commits to addressing these issues, first by paying disabled people experienced in anti-oppression education to teach organizers and staff how to avoid these
mistakes. I am a supporter of this kind of event as I know the need. I am extremely disappointed that CAN is being put in a position where we must back out. I am frustrated that
we already shared concerns and put in additional time and labor with emails, yet see the same issues being repeated. Sixpo is not a space I am willing to invite people to enter. I do hope that a future event is organized in an accessible manner without discrimination, but I caution that this takes work, commitment, and a prioritization of anti-oppression education, effort, and paying of people with those identities.