Workplace harassment Flashcards
Sexual Harassment
To tell plain
Belittling language referring to an individual’s body.
•Unwelcome sexual invitations or requests.
•Unnecessary touching or patting (unwelcome physical contact may also be considered sexual misconduct).
•Leering at a person’s body.
•Unwelcome innuendo or taunting about a person’s body, sexual orientation, or appearance.
•Suggestive remarks or other verbal abuse of a sexual nature directed at an individual or group.
•Solicitation, capture, transmission or promotions of sexualized images of an individual or group without consent.
•Visual displays of degrading or offensive sexual statements or images directed at an individual or group.
The Unit
•Systemic sexual misconduct in the unit can result in a lack of unit cohesion and reduced morale.
If the common belief is that the inappropriate behaviour will not be taken seriously, this can lead to a loss of trust in the leadership by the troops.
•The stress that comes from working in an environment which is perceived to be threatening and hostile is difficult. It erodes a person’s capacity to work to their full potential, and may lead to increased sick leave, grievances, and unit cohesion, ultimately having an adverse effect on mission effectiveness.
Key Points on the impact of sexual misconduct:
Sexual misconduct affects more than just the victim and the perpetrator; it affects peers, subordinates, the chain of command, small teams, units, mission effectiveness, and operational effectiveness.
•Both men and women can be victims and/or perpetrators.
“Inappropriate behaviour simply cannot, and will not, be allowed to persist in any area of the toronto police or under anyone I supervise directly or indirectly
of the Canadian military – an institution that exists to defend our nation’s core values of freedom, respect, dignity and fairness.”
A Leadership Team which models a professional climate and demonstrates the expected behaviours (“Talking the Talk” and “Walking the Walk”) can have a significant impact on unit cohesion and improved morale.
LO3: Describe the concept of bystander intervention
Sexual violence has become more apparent in social media, in pop culture, in the news, on talk shows, and in the movies. Everyone is a witness, in one way or another, to a wide range of events that contribute to sexual violence. Sometimes, we say something or do something, but at other times, we choose simply to ignore the situation. How do we make those decisions?
The decision to act is not always straight forward, especially in an organization in which rank and positions of authority are such dominant factors. The more you learn about bystander intervention, however, the better prepared you will be the next time you find yourself witnessing a potentially harmful situation.
What are some potential situations where bystander intervention could help?
- Rude, inconsiderate, or unprofessional behaviour
- Harassment
- Inappropriate or offensive humour
- Dangerous behaviour
- Escalating or destructive conflict
- Unfair or discriminatory behaviour
- Meanness or bullying
- Violation of ethical standards
- Inappropriate advances
- Threats or potential violence
Bystander intervention training is intended to assist members in developing the awareness, skills, and courage needed to intervene in a situation when another individual needs help; it sends a powerful message about what is acceptable and expected behaviour in our CAF.
Understanding why bystander apathy occurs
It’s more comfortable for us to assume that only ‘other people’ would behave like this (bystander apathy). Yet the research has shown that the reluctance of bystanders to act can be attributed to either of two factors: the ‘diffusion of responsibility effect’, where the presence of other people leads individuals to assume that someone else will help or already has, or ‘the power of social norms’, in which people observe others’ reactions to evaluate the severity of a situation.
On 11 August 2012, a 16-year-old girl was sexually assaulted in Steubenville, a small town in Ohio by two local football players – over the course of many hours and at several different locations. Throughout the evening, one perpetrator sent text messages describing the crime, along with nude pictures of the victim to friends. Onlookers at the scene took videos and shared them as well; numerous partygoers and others were aware of the incident and failed to report it or assist the victim.
The events of that night baffled most people, but when viewed in a different framework, the inaction of bystanders to sexual assault and bullying makes sense. Fraternities, the military, and sports teams such as Steubenville’s hometown football team, are mini-collectives within a larger society…and mini-collectives are apt to value conformity and punish or ostracise those who defy the group’s social norms.
Alan Berkowitz, a California psychologist and expert in rape prevention has said, ‘When you’re in a very powerful peer group, like a group of young men – the most important thing that young men are taught is to fit in with other young men
value conformity and punish or ostracise those who defy the group’s social norms.
Alan Berkowitz, a California psychologist and expert in rape prevention has said, ‘When you’re in a very powerful peer group, like a group of young men – the most important thing that young men are taught is to fit in with other young men
do something or say something before a behaviour or a situation escalates and moves to the right along the spectrum.
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Impact of harassment or other sexual Harassment
Individual
The platoon
The unit
The tps in whole
Key points of the impact of sexual misconduct
Affects more than just the victim and the perpetrator
•Both men and women can be victims and/or perpetrators
•A leadership team that talks the talk and walks the walk is crucial
Duty to report
Some potential situations where bystander intervention could help: •Rude, inconsiderate, or unprofessional behaviour •Harassment •Inappropriate or offensive humour •Dangerous behaviour •Escalating or destructive conflict •Unfair or discriminatory behaviour •Meanness or bullying •Violation of ethical standards •Inappropriate advances •Threats or potential violence
•why people don’t get involved
It isn’t my problem •It isn’t my responsibility •I don’t want to look stupid •I don’t want to make things worse •I don’t know what to say •I don’t want to be “that person” that speaks up when no one else does •I do not want to offend anyone •I am introverted •I don’t know what to do
Harassment and sexual harassment
- It involves someone that I care about
- Someone helped ME once
- I didn’t think about it, I just reacted
- I was doing what I would want someone else to do for me
- It’s the right thing to do
Bystander Intervention Strategies
Name or acknowledge an offense •Publicly support a victimized person •Use body language to show disapproval •Interrupt the behaviour •Use humour (with care) •Talk privately with the person who acted inappropriately •Talk privately with the person who is the target of the perpetrator •Ask for help
Bystander action
Successful when…
•Leadership demonstrates zero tolerance
•Bystanders know how to take action
•Bystanders have confidence that the Chain of Command is taking action
•Bystanders have confidence they will be supported by the institution, not victimized
•Gender equality and respectful relationships are promoted
Inspector Peter Code (6469
To Superintendent Barbara McLean (6947) in 2016.12.05
The program, entitled “EPIC”, an acronym for “Ethical Policing Is Courageous”, was designed to train officers to intervene if they observe indicators that would lead them to believe that a fellow officer is on the verge of entering into a course of misconduct.
The “EPIC” concept is quite simple, with its foundation being the training of officers to become active bystanders, ready to intervene when they see a fellow officer about to enter into a course of misconduct, as opposed to passive bystanders, who by allowing misconduct to go unchallenged, accepts the misconduct as the new norm.
