The international organization and L'Arche's Canadian branch have taken steps to improve whistle-blowing and reporting procedures
MONTREAL — An international charity that helps people with intellectual disabilities said it has been making changes as it attempts to grapple with revelations about its Canadian co-founder's sexual abuse of women.
"When I first heard the information, one of the first things that I was trying to just wrap my head around was, how could this have happened within this organization and we didn't know and, in fact, we failed the women who were abused," Vaanholt said in an interview Monday. "We didn't see it, we didn't stop it, it happened and we are deeply, deeply sorry for that."
"This is an important part of our growth as an organization and it's ongoing and evolving and we're committed to that," she said. While the report didn't find evidence that Vanier abused people with intellectual disabilities, Vaanholt said abuse education is now mandatory for people with disabilities in order to give them "the language ... the understanding that they have choice, autonomy and rights around how they are treated.
L'Arche continues to operate 28 communities across Canada and has two "projects" — potential communities that are being evaluated. Burghardt, who has not worked for L'Arche since 2008, said Monday's report shows the organization needs to look at practices that date back to its early days, including its lines of authority and trust in its hierarchy.
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