UNGENDER’s Post

The Australian Human Rights Commission released a report on the 4th national survey on workplace sexual harassment in Australian workplaces. The report is very lengthy and we thought it might be in the interest of our readers to pull out some of the key points. The survey collected data on a range of areas including what we focus on in this article: - The prevalence and nature of sexual harassment in the workplace - The perpetrators of workplace sexual harassment - The industries where sexual harassment occurs - The reporting of workplace sexual harassment and the outcomes of complaints. The most common forms of sexual harassment experienced were: 1. Offensive sexually suggestive comments or jokes: two-thirds of (59%) women and one quarter (26%) of men 2. Inappropriate physical contact: just over half of women (54%) and one quarter (23%) of men, and 3. Unwelcome touching, hugging, cornering or kissing: just over half of women (51%) and one in five (21%) men. #sexualharassment #areyouok #femaleworkersafety #sexualharassmenttraining #onlinetraining #LMS #metoo

🇬🇧 Sexual harassment in the workplace. Laws coming into force in October 2024, will impose a new duty of care on employers to prevent sexual harassment. Click here to read our latest d&i Leaders https://lnkd.in/ePd6WV_k #EqualityLaw #DILeaders #Inclusion #HumanResources

The Australian Human Rights Commission released a report on the 4th national survey on workplace sexual harassment in Australian workplaces. The report is very lengthy and we thought it might be in the interest of our readers to pull out some of the key points. The survey collected data on a range of areas including what we focus on in this article: - The prevalence and nature of sexual harassment in the workplace - The perpetrators of workplace sexual harassment - The industries where sexual harassment occurs - The reporting of workplace sexual harassment and the outcomes of complaints. The most common forms of sexual harassment experienced were: 1. Offensive sexually suggestive comments or jokes: two-thirds of (59%) women and one quarter (26%) of men 2. Inappropriate physical contact: just over half of women (54%) and one quarter (23%) of men, and 3. Unwelcome touching, hugging, cornering or kissing: just over half of women (51%) and one in five (21%) men. #sexualharassment #areyouok #femaleworkersafety #sexualharassmenttraining #onlinetraining #LMS #metoo

A recent Statistics Canada survey sheds light on the significant rate of #harassment and #sexualharassment in the workplace. The survey reveals that almost 50% of women and 30% of men report ever experiencing some form of #workplaceharassment or sexual harassment. Know More - https://bit.ly/3wu9AE4 #WhittenandLublin #employmentlawyer

Understanding Sexual Harassment at the Workplace Workplace sexual harassment has long been a pervasive issue across industries and sectors. It encompasses unwelcome acts or behavior — physical, verbal, or non-verbal — that are sexual in nature and affect the dignity of individuals, most often women. This behavior creates an intimidating, hostile, or humiliating environment, impacting productivity and causing psychological trauma. Historically, societal norms, gender power dynamics, and an entrenched culture of silence allowed sexual harassment to go unchecked, often leaving victims with little or no recourse. Global Emergence of Anti-Harassment Laws Globally, sexual harassment in the workplace became a legally recognized issue only in the later part of the 20th century. In the United States, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 laid the groundwork for protecting individuals against discrimination based on race, sex, and religion, but it wasn't until the 1980s that sexual harassment was specifically addressed. In the United Kingdom, laws protecting against sexual harassment took shape under the Sex Discrimination Act 1975. The global legal landscape has since evolved, with most countries enacting specific laws or incorporating provisions within their labor laws to address this serious issue. India's journey toward legal reform in this regard culminated with the introduction of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition, and Redressal) Act, 2013 (popularly known as the POSH Act), marking a significant step in addressing workplace sexual harassment and ensuring women's right to a safe work environment. To be Contd... #POSHAct #WorkplaceSafety #SexualHarassmentLaw #GenderEquality #SafeWorkEnvironment #WomensRights #LegalProtection #WorkplaceHarassment #AntiHarassmentLaws #DignityAtWork #WorkplaceEthics #CorporateCompliance #LegalReforms #WomenEmpowerment #PreventionOfHarassment #GlobalLegalFramework #SafeWorkspaces #AamirParwez

The new duty to prevent sexual harassment at work for employers will come into force in October 2024. Although it does not give employees a freestanding right to bring a claim against an employer for failure to comply with the duty, it will mean tribunals will be able to give a 25% uplift to successful claimants where there has been a failure to comply. Sexual harassment in the workplace blights people's working lives, but there are some problems with these amendments to the Equality Act 2010, as discussed in this thoughtful analysis by Darren Newman. https://lnkd.in/ei6SSHgH

While our observations and studies indicate a disproportionate prevalence of sexual harassment against women at the workplace, we must understand that men are also susceptible. Yet, aggrieved men hesitate to come forward due to fear of mockery, fear of retaliation, impact on career, and a lot of stigma and misconceptions around male behaviour. Men too need to be provided with a platform to raise their voice against sexual harassment, express their concerns, file complaints and seek redressal. The existing PoSH Act was created to make workplaces safe for women. Hence, the law states the legal recourse for an 'aggrieved woman'. However, it is still in an organization's hands to create their anti-sexual harassment policy and redressal mechanism. This means organizations can make policies such that anybody facing sexual harassment, irrespective of gender, can file a complaint. This ensures the safety of all employees. While the PoSH Act meant to protect women, it has brought about a lot of awareness and changes in the work environment. Organizations put effort into encouraging a 'speak up' culture. This, in turn, as led to the consideration of making an organization's anti-sexual harassment policy gender-inclusive. All aggrieved individuals must have the right to seek redressal to their sexual harassment complaints at the workplace. However, if an organization's PoSH policy is not gender-neutral, men can still approach HR to seek redressal under the grievance and disciplinary policy, like any other workplace misconduct. Is your organization's policy gender-neutral? Does it empower all employees to speak up against sexual harassment? #poshact #poshawareness #mentoo #sexualharassment #workculture #workenvironment #employeerights #poshpolicy #genderneutral

Useful tip (and free helpful template policy) for forthcoming statutory obligation on employers. #WorkplaceSexualHarrassment #TheLawisChanging

HR Pros.... did you know that the EEOC has published new Workplace Harassment guidelines? These may impact your current company policies and training. High level summary of changes: - expansion of protected categories to include race, color, national origin, religion, sex, age, disability, and genetic information. This also includes pregnancy, childbirth, contreception, sexual orientation, and gender identity. - expansion or privileges and conditions of employment and what consititutes a hostile work envirnment to include both objective AND subjective standpoints on what is offensive behavior - that's where things will get tricky. - expansion of who is liable for the behavior. For harassment based on protected features - the employer is liable. For hostile work environment - it depends on a variety of factors including what position the harasser holds in the company. For more information, check out the below summary from HRMorning #SHRM #PIHRA #employeerelations #harassmentprevention #positiveworkenvironment

👇You can find in the following link: Employer 8-step guide: Preventing #sexualharassment at work Under #equality law, employers must take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment of workers. Under the Equality Act 2010 employers have a positive legal duty to take reasonable steps to prevent #sexualharassment of their workers. Does you company take serious steps to prevent #sexualharassment? Comment on this post, we would love to hear from you. #notoleration #harassment #equality #diversity #inclusion #equalityhumanrights https://lnkd.in/epB-fcBw