Some people have expressed concern that I have made some people uncomfortable with my online romantic advances. I never intended to cause any discomfort, and I’m deeply sorry to anyone I hurt or made uncomfortable. I intend to step back from public life and the activism communities I’ve belonged to and reflect on my mistakes further. I want to err on the side of caution, and I already planned to step back after the launch of my book last year so I could focus on my research. I have been and continue to be eager to participate in any healing or restorative processes that would benefit any individuals I have wronged in any way.
I have confirmed with third parties that there have been no complaints from anyone who has worked with or for me. I was presented with one specific conversation over Facebook Messenger, which I have been able to view in my own message history. During what I perceived to be mutual flirting, I said “Okay cutie :)”. The person said they were not interested, and I said “Okay thks for clarifying :)”. I then mentioned that I was in a polyamorous/open relationship, in order to clarify that I was not cheating or intending to cheat on my partner, which the person interpreted as persistent flirting. When I was told by a third party that the person felt uncomfortable with this exchange, I apologized, the other person thanked me for the apology, and the third party said they believed I in good faith appreciated these situations.
I have been told by third parties that the concerns were primarily about “coming on too strong” or going “0 to 60” with people I was flirting with over Facebook Messenger. Some have said that while my romantic advances would be appropriate in some contexts, it was made problematic by the power dynamics of my position as a public figure. Some have said that people viewed interactions with me in a different light after hearing about my apparent reputation of promiscuity and sleeping around, which was widely discussed in the community in August 2018, shortly before these concerns were brought to my attention.
My approach to expressing romantic interest has always been forward and direct. I am very frank, though I always do my best to be polite and courteous. In the past I’ve perceived this to have been received positively by others, who appreciated the openness and honesty, including the people I’ve ended up having long-term relationships with, but I know that having to deal with advances at all can be hurtful, uncomfortable, and frustrating, and I’m sorry for not being as aware of the effects of my actions as I should have been. I also now better understand how the dynamic between someone in a public or influential role and other members of the community can put them on unequal footing. Not knowing the specifics of the allegations, it’s also possible that my behavior was inappropriate in other ways, and I’m sorry for that too.
After a third party told me last fall about the anonymous concerns, I also wrote an apology that the third party could share with any anonymous complainants who had contacted them, and I committed to not making advances on anyone employed in the animal advocacy movement. I wanted to err on the side of caution and avoid doing any further harm, so I took this step to ensure that there was no chance of causing anyone further discomfort. I have not heard of any allegations that I have broken this commitment at any time. I don’t want to make anyone uncomfortable or disempowered, and I’m deeply sorry for not taking greater care with my actions.
CEA was made aware of concerns about my behavior, though I understand they’re not able to share details with me in order to respect the confidentiality of people who don’t wish to be identified. We no longer have any relationship and have agreed that I will not attend or speak at EA Global or other CEA events. I am also stepping back from the EA community more generally, as I have been planning to since last year in order to focus on my research. I already stopped moderating EA Facebook groups last year due to time constraints, but I will officially remove myself from “moderator” and “administrator” statuses in groups where I still have that role.
In the interest of transparency and clearing the air, I want to clarify that several rumors have been shared about me that are provably false, for instance, that I was banned from attending an animal advocacy conference, which never happened to my knowledge, or that I was warned about misbehavior and then alleged of not changing my behavior after that warning. I do not deny that I have made mistakes, but I am saddened and hurt by the rumors and falsehoods I have heard, mostly vague and third-hand. Most of the people I have spoken with about the allegations also did not hear about the restorative process, apologies, or commitment to improve that happened. I hope this public statement helps clarify the situation for outside observers.
As I mentioned at the beginning, I am stepping back from public life and will reflect on my mistakes further. I am grateful to all of my friends and colleagues who have helped me to understand my failures and become a better person. I accept the corrective actions discussed herein that mediators have agreed on, and I am grateful to have been given the opportunity to understand, right my wrongs, and improve.
In the interest of facilitating healthy discussion and my separation from CEA, I am not planning to respond to any comments on this post. If you have had interactions with me that you found problematic, please feel free to send me what information you are comfortable sharing, anonymously or otherwise, via this link. You can also reach Julia Wise, one of CEA’s community liaisons, at [email protected].
Below is a statement from CEA:
We approached Jacy about our concerns about his behavior after receiving reports from several parties about concerns over several time periods, and we discussed this public statement with him. We have not been able to discuss details of most of these concerns in order to protect the confidentiality of the people who raised them, but we find the reports credible and concerning. It’s very important to CEA that EA be a community where people are treated with fairness and respect. If you’ve experienced problems in the EA community, we want to help. Julia Wise serves as a contact person for the community, and you can always bring concerns to her confidentially.
Note: This post has been updated since its original publication to clarify and include updated information.
I'm glad there's a way for people to be able to raise concerns about a problem within the community, without telling the world they're a victim or fearing retaliation.
An investigative journalist has now spoken with a number of people involved in this process and wrote about this post with some more details. A few informative quotes:
From the journalist: “In the case of Jacy Reese, as best I can tell — which is not very well at all — he is being accused by a number of women of “insistent or clumsy flirting,” most of it online, via text or Facebook message.”
From Kelly: “When CEA contacted us last Monday, they seemed very concerned about the allegation against him from seven years ago, when he was a teenager, which almost everyone we have discussed this with mistakenly believed was an allegation of assault. Multiple people have communicated to Jacy and me that when that allegation became shared widely in the community last year, in the month before any concerns were brought to his attention, it sparked discussions about his current behavior, as well as the spreading of verifiably false rumors.”
From Julia (who said that reporting this story would be counterproductive): “I respect the decision (Jacy) has made to step back from EA generally. I think he responded appropriately, and I don’t want to dis-incentivize that.”
[Note: There is now more information which suggests the allegations were not as severe as commenters here believed. In addition to the journalist saying the allegations amounted to “insistent or clumsy flirting," the single example of which we know details involved Jacy calling someone "cutie," to which the discussant said they were not interested, and he responded that he was in a "polyamorous/open" relationship, which the discussant interpreted as continued flirting, but he says was only meant "to clarify that he was not cheating or intending to cheat on his partner."]
While it may be technically true that Jacy was a “teenager” at the time the Brown incidents occurred, Kelly’s use of that term to suggest that her partner was somehow less morally responsible for his actions strikes me as regrettable. Very few teenagers are formally accused of sexual misconduct, and even fewer expelled from a university following an accusation. Moreover, any attempt to tacitly attribute Jacy’s early behavior to immaturity is in tension with the existence of independent accusations by multiple women in recent years.
I searched for information on how Brown University handles sexual misconduct and quickly found two cases of judges siding with students who felt they were treated unfairly by Brown University tribunals.
From an article on Case #1 (Judge William E. Smith). The judge's remark "having read a few of the emails, it is abundantly clear that the writers, while passionate, were woefully ignorant about the issues before the Court" appears to lend credibility to Jacy's claim that "The stories against me snowballed into exaggerated rumors about me last year that I’m sure many in my class heard."
From an article on Case #2 (Judge John McConnell).
FIRE is an organization which rates universities on whether they provide due process to those accused of sexual misconduct. They give Brown University a grade of D in this area (which seems to be the most common grade). Note that the process used in the Effective Altruism community appears to violate at least two of FIRE's due process safeguards: "Access to all evidence" and "Right to face accuser and witness". (I have complex feelings about this. Can elaborate if people are interested.)
Anyway, seems to me Jacy's expulsion provides less evidence than you might think, because Brown's process for deciding these things is not that great.
Two of FIRE's conditions request that victims of sexual assault must face their assailant in order to have any hope of justice. I'm extremely glad that EA organisations violate FIRE's "safeguards".
If I'm not mistaken, only one condition requires this ("Right to face accuser and witness"). I don't see how the "Access to all evidence" condition requires this.
You seem to have strong feelings about this. I think these are complex issues that deserve careful consideration. Here in the US, the right to confront witnesses is a guarantee provided by the Sixth Amendment to our constitution. I'd want a good understanding of why it's there before being confident in its removal.
The Sixth Amendment only applies in criminal cases. These are not criminal cases.
FIRE has some discussion on their website if you search for "cross-examine" here. Maybe you can provide legal background on how this situation differs from a college disciplinary hearing.
But I'm less interested in legal technicalities and more interested in what the best policies for Effective Altruism are. There's a decent chance this is the end of Jacy's career as an EA. It's important for CEA to wield its power in this area responsibly.
I'm not saying Jacy should definitely be allowed to cross-examine witnesses. I'm just saying it's a complex issue that deserves careful consideration.
I do have strong feelings about this, but having strong feelings and having given complex issues careful consideration are not mutually exclusive, and the implication otherwise was uncalled for. Having carefully considered the issue, I have concluded the anonymity of sexual assault victims is the most important factor here, I'm not alone in this conclusion. The UK legal system, for example, agrees.
Give that you easily identified that "access all evidence" was the other criterion which risked anonymity, I don't think it's too hard to see the connection between them.
Can you provide a reliable source supporting the claim that the UK legal system does not allow the accused access to all evidence?
I did some research of my own, and from what I can gather, it seems the provision you refer to is mostly about not letting the public know the name of the alleged victim. I find it hard to believe that the accused sometimes does not know the name of the alleged victim in the UK legal system.
I believe age is important context in this situation. It is widely accepted in criminal justice systems and society at large that youths should be punished less than adults for the same transgressions. Moreover, the recent concerns must be viewed in context, because of the timing of university allegations being "shared widely" immediately before the recent concerns.
Jacy was an adult when the relevant incidents occurred. I don't think it is widely accepted in criminal justice systems and society at large that young adults should be punished less than older adults for the same transgressions. I also reiterate that we have independent testimonies by multiple women over a long period of time in Jacy's adult life all pointing in the same direction.
That article from Medium.com appears to have been removed. That's relevant given that Jacy has now begun publicly interacting with the EA community and these past allegations have been brought up again.
It was moved here:
https://nonprofitchronicles.com/2019/04/02/the-peculiar-metoo-story-of-animal-activist-jacy-reese/
Oh thank you