Let’s just come out and say it: sexual harassment, in any shape or form, is completely unacceptable. It doesn’t matter if it’s on the street, in a bar, at home, or in the workplace, everyone has the right to be safe and free from harassment and bullying. Under the Human Rights Act 1993, everyone has the right not to be sexually harassed.
But the statistics in New Zealand prove we’ve still got a long way to go:
The problem of workplace sexual harassment is probably more prevalent than these statistics suggest, as it often goes unreported.
So there is a lot more that Kiwi businesses should be doing. We’ve created this blog post to help understand sexual harassment, how to better prevent it from happening in the workplace, and how to protect and support every person in your workforce.
Sexual harassment is defined in The Human Rights Act as: “any unwelcome or offensive sexual behaviour that is repeated, or is serious enough to have a harmful effect, or which contains an implied or overt promise of preferential treatment or an implied or overt threat of detrimental treatment.”.
The Employment Relations Act further defines it as when an employer (or their representative), co-employee, client or customer:
Sexual harassment is an abuse of power and it is essential to understand that the perpetrator’s intentions are irrelevant to whether their behaviour caused harm to the victim.
Despite these clear definitions, what people consider sexual harassment may differ, which can make reporting difficult in some cases. However, all organisations have a duty to provide a safe environment for their employees and to address any instances of unacceptable behaviour.
There are several pieces of legislation that cover employers’ obligations:
Sexual harassment is traumatic and permitting or overlooking it puts your workers and business at risk. Not doing anything about it or not responding appropriately can lead people to think there is a culture of permissiveness, which can seriously affect employee morale and productivity, damage your reputation, and can lead to absenteeism, resignations, and/or personal grievance claims.
From 13 June 2023, employees have 12 months (instead of the usual 90 days) to raise a personal grievance related to sexual harassment. The new time period applies to sexual harassment events that happened, or came to the employee's notice, on or after 13 June 2023, and applies even if the employee leaves their employment during the 12-month period.
Part of your obligations under the Health and Safety at Work Act is assessing and mitigating, as far as is reasonably practicable, the risks arising from sexual harassment.
WorkSafe has identified certain factors that can put workers at greater risk of sexual harassment, including:
Look to build a clear picture of your team and what is happening on the front line using a variety of indicators and assessments, e.g. rates of absenteeism or resignations, discussions with your health and safety rep, conducting exit interviews.
If you identify risks, then work with your people on actions to eliminate or mitigate them. External assistance from trained professionals could help.
Even if you don’t think sexual harassment is happening or haven’t found evidence of it, you should still have systems to deal with it.
That means creating written policies and guides that clearly define what sexual harassment is, how employees can report it (whether they experience it or witness it), the process for dealing with incidents (as with any incidents of misconduct or serious misconduct), what support is available to employees, and the potential consequences for perpetrators (if an investigation upholds concerns of harassment, this could mean disciplinary action up to and including termination of employment).
Make these living documents by keeping them up-to-date and ensuring all employees read and understand them.
This is an area where Kiwi businesses have some work to do. WorkSafe’s 2021 segmentation and insights programme found that only 53% of employers across all sectors had a policy for bullying and harassment.
Learn more about preventing and responding to workplace sexual harassment (Manatū Wāhine Ministry for Women website).
As with any concern or problem, early identification, reporting, and response mean incidents and issues are more likely to be resolved rather than being allowed to worsen.
Workers need to have the confidence and support to speak up without fear of inaction or retaliation, so they raise concerns rather than waiting until the behaviour gets to such a level that they need to make a formal complaint. By then, their (and their co-workers’) wellbeing may be so affected they are no longer effective or want to continue in the job.
Sexual harassment can be hard to identify and talk about, so ensure all your people can recognise it and know what to do if they experience or see it. This includes knowing where to go for resources and support.
Provide prevention training to help all team members spot problematic behaviour early and effectively deal with it, such as learning about active bystanding techniques.
Ensure your organisation provides support to individuals experiencing harassment. If you don’t have an Employee Assistance Programme, you should consider it.
Your workplace environment and company culture can play a significant role in changing behaviour, but preventing sexual harassment may not be a quick fix, and there are many parts required to make up the whole, from raising awareness of the problem (and how it can be changed) to increasing diversity in your team and empowering all workers.
Managers and leaders need to walk the walk and model appropriate behaviour. Hiring and onboarding practices need to articulate what is expected of employees and what isn’t acceptable. Staff wellbeing needs to be a realistic and ongoing priority, not just a box-ticking exercise.