Preventing Sexual Harassment Dnister Staff Training

Training Overview

1. General Introduction

2. Sexual harassment and bullying

3. Some real-life examples / Cases

4. Dnister policies and procedures

5. Preventing and responding to bullying and harassment

6. Hypothetical scenarios

Fundamental Propositions

1. All employers have a duty of care to provide a safe work environment and safe systems of work.

2. Ensuring workplace safety encompasses both physical safety and psychological wellbeing.

3. The ability to work in a safe environment, free from sexual harassment, is a basic human right.

4. Sexual harassment remains a common problem, especially in traditionally male-dominated industries.

5. Toxic culture is bad for business – staff will switch-off, managers will put things in the ‘too hard basket’, and clients don’t like it.

The Positive Duty

A person who sexually harasses someone else is primarily responsible for their behaviour. However, in many cases, employers can also be held responsible for sexual harassment by their employees. (Vicarious Liability)

Employers have a responsibility to take all reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment in employment, such as implementing a sexual harassment policy and providing training or information on sexual harassment. (Positive Duty)

A Positive Duty to Prevent Sexual Harassment:

• all employers to take reasonable and proportionate measures to eliminate sex discrimination, sexual harassment and victimisation, as far as possible.
• shift in employers’ obligations from reaction to prevention
• rather than simply responding to incidents of sexual harassment as they occur, employers will have to commit to proactively preventing sexual harassment from occurring in their workplaces in the first place.

What is Sexual Harassment?

Sexual harassment is any unwanted or unwelcome sexual behaviour where a reasonable person would have anticipated the possibility that the person harassed would feel offended, humiliated or intimidated.