Some employers have a general workplace policy which covers all forms of unlawful discrimination and harassment (such as discrimination and harassment on the grounds of race, disability, sexual preference, age, etc). Others decide there is a need for a stand alone sexual harassment policy, particularly if sexual harassment is a common or recurring problem within the workplace.
A sexual harassment policy should include the following:
This should state that the organisation is committed to ensuring that the working environment is free from sexual harassment, that it will not be tolerated under any circumstances and that disciplinary action will be taken against any employee (or agent) who breaches the policy. To give the policy credibility and maximum impact, the opening statement should appear above the signature of the chief executive officer.
This demonstrates that the organisation is committed to a comprehensive strategy for eliminating sexual harassment. Employers may wish to consider something along the following lines.
This organisation aims to:
There is no single, universally accepted definition of sexual harassment. However, the definition adopted should be consistent with the legal definition to avoid any confusion. The most important element to emphasise in any definition is that sexual harassment is unwelcome behaviour of a sexual nature. For example, sexual harassment can be defined in the following way:
Sexual harassment is any unwanted, unwelcome or uninvited behaviour of a sexual nature which makes a person feel humiliated, intimidated or offended. Sexual harassment can take many different forms and may include physical contact, verbal comments, jokes, propositions, the display of offensive material or other behaviour which creates a sexually hostile working environment.
The policy should identify specific examples of sexual harassment, such as: uninvited touching; uninvited kisses or embraces; smutty jokes or comments; making promises or threats in return for sexual favours; displays of sexually graphic material including posters, pinups, cartoons, graffiti or messages left on notice boards, desks or common areas; repeated invitations to go out after prior refusal; "flashing" or sexual gestures; sex-based insults, taunts, teasing or name-calling; staring or leering at a person or at parts of their body; unwelcome physical contact such as massaging a person without invitation or deliberately brushing up against them; touching or fiddling with a person's clothing including lifting up skirts or shirts, flicking bra straps, or putting hands in a person's pocket; requests for sex; sexually explicit conversation; persistent questions or insinuations about a person's private life; offensive phone calls or letters; stalking; and offensive e-mail messages or computer screen savers.
The policy should explain that sexual harassment is not behaviour which is based on mutual attraction, friendship and respect. If the interaction is consensual, welcome and reciprocated it is not sexual harassment.
The policy should make it clear that sexual harassment is against the law. Reference should be made to the federal, state or territory anti-discrimination laws that apply to the organisation. Staff need to know that legal action could be taken against them for sexual harassment and that they could also be exposing the company to liability.
The policy should state that a person may be sexually harassed by a supervisor or manager, co-worker, contractor, service provider, client or customer. Although not all these situations would necessarily give rise to a complaint under the legislation, it makes good sense to provide an internal procedure for dealing with any sexual harassment which could affect the welfare of employees. The policy should also state that sexual harassment is not just unlawful during working hours or in the workplace itself and not only between co-workers.
The behaviour is unlawful in any work-related context, including conferences, work functions, office Christmas parties and business or field trips and includes interactions with clients and customers.
The policy should include a general warning to all employees of the consequences they can expect if they do not comply. Depending on the severity of the case, consequences may include an apology, counselling, transfer, dismissal, demotion or other forms of disciplinary action. Employees should also be informed that immediate disciplinary action will be taken against anyone who victimises or retaliates against a person who has complained of sexual harassment.
The policy should state that the organisation has a legal responsibility to prevent sexual harassment, otherwise it can be liable for the behaviour of its employees.
This means that managers and supervisors have a responsibility to:
All staff have a responsibility to:
The policy should tell employees where they can get help if they are sexually harassed. Depending on the size of the organisation and the system that is in place for dealing with sexual harassment, employees can be advised to approach their manager or supervisor, sexual harassment contact officer, equal employment opportunity officer, human resources manager, industrial relations manager and/or their union delegate. Where possible, a number of different contact people of both sexes should be provided so that staff can approach someone they feel comfortable with. It is not appropriate to only give staff the option of approaching their line manager because there may be cases where the manager is the alleged harasser or is perceived to be closely associated with the harasser and therefore not impartial.
Employees should be advised of the different ways that sexual harassment can be addressed. This includes informal action such as confronting the harasser directly (but only if the individual feels confident enough to do so), making a formal complaint to a manager or using the organisation's internal complaints procedures. The way that complaints will be handled should be documented in the policy or in a separate complaints procedure. Staff can be referred to this if they require more information. Employees can also approach HREOC or the relevant state or territory anti-discrimination agency for information and confidential advice.
