This month, the new Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act 2023 was enacted, which requires businesses to take ‘reasonable steps’ to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace.
Under the Act, employment tribunals will have the power to increase compensation by up to 25% if it finds that an employer has breached this duty. Too many companies are woefully ill-prepared for the new legislation.
A critical contributor to sexual harassment is misogyny. While misogyny is not recognized as a hate crime per se, it is an important subject and is often a driver for women being harassed. Indeed, it is as relevant for men as it is for women, and I believe it should be treated with the same sensitivity and seriousness as other hate crimes.
One of the first things that struck me when setting up and running the investigative team in Parliament was the difference in abuse and threats the female Members of Parliament received from those the men received.
The targeting of female politicians was significant. This was perhaps magnified because of the murder of Jo Cox MP, which precipitated me setting up the team.
The abuse received by women is far more personal, making references to every perceived flaw in their looks, dress sense, apparent sexuality and sexual preference. The threats are routinely sexually violent in their nature.
While some dismiss the ‘Me too’ movement as irrelevant, it is far too serious, and the issues too routed to be treated so lightly. The sad truth is that 80% of victims of stalking are women.
Suky Bhaker from the Suzy Lamplugh Trust was a guest on The Defuse Podcast and stated that 88% of respondents surveyed by the Trust had experienced unwanted violent, aggressive or sexual behaviours on UK public transport in the last five years, and 90% of them had experienced unwanted behaviours, at least once in their lifetime.
Statistics from surveys completed by L’Oréal Paris and IPSOS44 between 2019 and 2021 revealed:
- 80% of women in the UK have reported experiencing harassment in public spaces
- 75% of UK harassment victims said no one helped
- 93% of UK women and 90% of UK men believe there is a lack of training on how to intervene
- 86% of UK witnesses who have intervened reported that their action improved the situation
- 86% of UK respondents say they did not intervene because they did not know what to do.
It has been reported by a 2016 TUC survey that more than 60% of women have reported being sexually harassed at work. Further evidence of the scale of the problem suggests that 29% of people have been victims of workplace bullying in the UK. That’s nearly 3 in every ten workers, equating to 9.1 million UK workforces. To compound the issue, over 90% of employees didn’t report their concerns to the employer as they believed they failed to deal with reports properly.
This is by no means a UK-centric issue. In her book I Hate Men, French author Pauline Harmange stated that 90% of people who received death threats from their partners were women, while 86% of those murdered by a current or former partner were women. Interestingly, the book was subjected to a censorship attempt by France’s Ministry of Gender Equality in 2020.
To overcome misogyny, men must understand the issue as well as women and be willing to change. As a man, consider this from the perspective of your mother, female partner, sister, daughter or niece. As a woman… well, you will know this subject too well.
Some lawyers who specialise in this area who I have spoken with have suggested that organisations will need to demonstrate that they are now doing something different to comply with the new legislation.
This legislation is enacted at a critical time, as violence against women and girls (VAWG) with The National Policing Statement for VAWG, commissioned by the National Police Chiefs’ Council and College of Policing, reporting that over one million VAWG-related crimes were recorded during 2022/23, accounting for 20% of all police recorded crime.
The new Act requires organisations to take ‘reasonable steps’ to prevent sexual harassment. So, what are reasonable steps?
How do women feel about leaving the building late at night at work? Do they have to walk to the station or to a car park? Have you discussed these issues with colleagues or clients? Does everyone know what behaviours should be reported? How do you measure the impact of the changes you are making? Does the training you providing have any real impact? Are the policies written with women in mind by women?
For example, walking down a street or leaving a venue in the dark is a different experience for men and women. This activity requires a risk assessment for many women as they survey the area for risks and threats. This isn’t something that men do, so very often, we (men) don’t recognise how women and girls feel, and so fail to take the required steps to encourage change. The challenge for many men, conscious of how their presence may be misconstrued or not, is knowing how to react when they think a woman is in distress. Bystander training is a new element I’d encourage everyone to participate in.
Employers must consistently take action beyond policies and training to foster a safe and inclusive workplace. This can be more complicated than one might think, given the importance of inclusion and an increasing focus on non-binary and LGBTQIA2S+ issues. Regular workplace assessments are essential to ensure the effectiveness of existing measures. Training focusing on behavioural indicators rather than conflict management can be useful in such nuanced issues.
Apart from the human response and the obvious duty of care, failing to be proactive may result in many other problems. These can include legal consequences like lawsuits and compensation claims, reputational damage, reduced employee morale, increased turnover, and decreased productivity.
Here are eight steps employers should implement to protect employees.
- Have clear policies: Develop and critically communicate clear policies on sexual harassment. These policies must consider and articulate the priorities. Is the focus on protecting the organisation or the complainant?
- Invest in training: Introduce new regular training for all employees on recognizing and preventing harassment. Try to think outside the box. Everyone offers very similar E-learning packages, which I’m never convinced are hugely effective. Defuse delivers workshops based on recognising the behavioural issues that can indicate an impending issue.
- Ensure you have reporting mechanisms: Establish straightforward procedures for reporting harassment that are well-published and provide real clarity.
- Conduct prompt investigations: Investigate all complaints promptly and thoroughly and be mindful of incidents where criminal offences may have been committed. Investigating vulnerable victims requires specialised training and skills.
- Guarantee confidentiality: Ensure that complaints are handled confidentially and with sensitivity.
- Make sure you offer non-retaliation: Protect complainants from retaliation and reprisals. It is critical that safeguards are thought through and practised.
- Take appropriate actions: Take disciplinary action against perpetrators, when necessary, as quickly and fairly as possible.
- Offer support to all parties: Provide access to counselling and support services.
Download a copy of our white paper ‘The Inside Threat – Exploring the Link between Economic Downturn and Concerning and Threatening Workplace Behaviours’ here
