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Inclusivity - Reading Materials Chapter 02: Gender-Based Harassment and Violence

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Introduction

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This chapter is recommended to be coupled with Chapter 01: Women and Gender. They work in tandem as a prerequisite to the rest of the toolkit content and resources.

Best and Promising Practices

Women and Gender Equality Canada is collaborating with provinces and territories to establish flexible bilateral agreements supporting the implementation of the National Action Plan to End Gender-based Violence. These agreements address jurisdiction-specific challenges, needs, and priorities under the five pillars of the National Action Plan. The plan aims to engage Canadians in changing social norms, attitudes, and behaviours contributing to gender-based harassment and violence (GBHV), addressing social and economic factors, ensuring access to culturally appropriate protection, and enhancing outcomes for those impacted by GBHV. The five pillars focus on support, prevention, a responsive justice system, Indigenous-led approaches, and social infrastructure. Learn more

The Ending Violence Association of British Columbia (EVA BC) launched the Be More Than a Bystander campaign in 2011 with the Canadian Football League’s BC Lions Football Club. This initiative empowers high school students with skills to combat gender-based violence, later expanding to workplace programming. EVA BC collaborates with major employers and unions to create inclusive workplace cultures, providing tools to recognize behaviours contributing to a negative culture. The program equips leaders and employees at all levels with tangible skills to address issues and foster a respectful culture. Learn more

The Quick Escape, Leave Quickly, or Fast Exit button on webpages related to sensitive topics allows users to close the page discreetly for privacy or safety. The button, positioned consistently on the page, redirects users to a generic site to exit inconspicuously. Learn more here and here.

Policies/Procedures

Five Types of Workplace Violence to Address:

  • Type 1: Criminal Intent
  • Type 2: Customer/Client
  • Type 3: Worker-on-Worker
  • Type 4: Personal Relationship
  • Type 5: Employer – Employee
  • All staff receive training in healthy workplaces and Gender-Based Harassment and Violence.
  • All staff receive training in respectful workplaces.
  • All staff receive bystander training as mentioned in Chapter 01.
  • All staff receive training or educational resources on proactive allyship.
  • The training must include information on respectful workplaces, the four types of workplace violence, micro and macro aggressions, unconscious bias, and respectful vs hurtful language.

Building a Sexual Harassment-Free Workplace in Electricity

EHRC, in partnership with the Justice Department of Canada, has compiled a compendium of supports and procedures. It emphasizes the seriousness of gender-based harassment and violence, providing guidance for victims and witnesses. Learn more

Resource 5: A/V Presentation: What do you think? – True or False: Dispels myths and assumptions related to GBHV, providing facts to address misinformation. This resource aims to contribute to awareness and dispel commonly held beliefs.

Resource 6: What to Do if You Witness Inappropriate Behaviour—Possible Responses:

Detect:

  • Know your rights and be aware of workplace policies.
  • Document incidents, preserving evidence.

Interrupt:

  • Change the subject to distract from the incident.
  • Call out harassment directly when safe.

Address Privately:

  • Discuss offensive behavior privately.
  • Offer support and inform about reporting options.

Support:

  • Assist the survivor or find a third-party to intervene.
  • Speak privately with the targeted individual.
  • Suggest reporting options.

Follow Up:

  • Check in with the survivor discreetly.
  • Document reports and actions taken.
  • Store documents in a secure location with limited access.

If the survivor chooses not to report the incident immediately, consider following up discreetly a few days later and reiterating what support you’re willing to offer; survivors may need time to process what occurred and may experience shock, denial, self-blame, or wishful thinking.

Document

  • Preserve evidence. If you report the incident, document to whom you reported, the date and time, and their response. If they indicated that some action will be taken, follow up with the survivor to share what you were told would happen and again later to confirm that action was taken.
  • Keep a record of what you observe. If you witnessed the harassment of an individual who isn’t ready to report their harassment, or if your workplace has a culture where sexual or discriminatory comments are commonplace, consider keeping a record in a journal, on a personal electronic device, or in an email to yourself at a personal/non-business email address.
    • Record the name of the offender, the date, time, and location of the behavior, a description of the behavior, and the details of any comments or actions made with as much specificity as possible.

Reporting Responsibility

In a workplace, it is important to consider whether you have a responsibility to ensure that someone in human resources or a supervisor is aware of the incident. Your workplace may have created the conditions and/or policies where all employees have a responsibility to ensure that individuals who were harassed feel safe and protected from recurring harassment or retaliation. As a witness, you should follow the lead of the person who has been harassed and seek their permission before sharing details or reporting an incident.

  • You can report violations anonymously. Some organizations have mechanisms such as third party or whistleblower lines for reporting violations anonymously.
  • Do your part to change workplace culture. Suggest changes that can help create a healthier working environment to your supervisor or employer.
  • If you feel your internal reports are being ignored or mishandled, or if the harasser is within your human resources department or is your supervisor, there are other individuals to whom you can report. For example, another supervisor or manager, a Health and Safety representative, or your union. Some workplaces offer third-party reporting mechanisms.
  • Ensure that any individuals responsible for investigating GBHV are trained in trauma-informed approaches. This means that the individual is trained to identify trauma and recognize when one or more participants involved in an investigation may be experiencing trauma unrelated to the matter at hand. Learn more
  • Where possible, ensure that staff are trained in survivor-centred approaches. This is best described as an ”I believe you and I want to help” approach, where the survivor is validated for their experience by victim support workers, friends, peers, or counsellors. While this approach should not be applied by investigators, administrators, or impartial decision-makers, it is important that all workplace employees are up to date on survivor-centred approaches.
  • Healthy workplace training must be done prior to any training on GBHV. Employees and Supervisors need to know what they are striving to achieve and not just what they are looking to eliminate in terms of workplace relationships.
  • Integrate survivor-centred GBHV policies. There should be distinct GBHV policies and procedures, but also relevant components of GBHV that are integrated or referenced in other workplace policies. Some examples include:
    • Clearly establish GBHV, including intimate partner violence, as a health and safety issue.
    • Recognize how GBHV impacts workplace health and safety, and include GBHV in various health and safety policies and procedures.
    • Address the way GBHV may arise in various workplace settings (in-person, virtual, remote, associated events).
    • Simplify legislative and regulatory requirements so that all staff can fully understand them. Ensure these are provided with accessibility needs in mind, and with access to translation should the need arise.
    • Provide multiple channels for reporting incidents that do not involve direct management and that allow for anonymity.
    • Where possible, offer paid leave for survivors of GBHV.
    • Provide paid mental wellness days or time off to deal with legal processes.
  • Support the establishment of workplace peer-support initiatives.
  • Connect DEI to psychologically safe workplaces.
  • Conduct exit interviews that explore worker’s experience of harassment or bias related to gender and other identity demographics.
  • Establish a process for addressing workplace complaints involving GBHV that include multiple ways of reporting including anonymous reporting. This process must include:
    • Trained staff that can conduct prompt and thorough investigations.
    • Staff that have the authority to undertake appropriate remedial and preventative action.
    • Confirm non-retaliation obligations.
  • Consider training all staff in how to be a Signal for Help Responder. The mini course is free and flexible and exists for individuals to learn the basics of supporting someone who is experiencing abuse through short, interactive lessons. Learn more

General Resources

Important Dates

February 11
International Day of Women and Girls in Science

March 8
International Women’s Day

May
Sexual Violence Awareness Month

September 24 – 30
Gender Equality Week

October
Women History Month

October 11
International Day of the Girl Child

November 19
Women’s Entrepreneurship Day

November 25
International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women

December 6
National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women