Analysis
By s1jobs
The military, police forces, professional services, retailing or hospitality: few places, it seems, are immune from sexual harassment at work.
The #MeToo movement showed that despite decades of effort to combat such unfit behaviour, the problem remains stubbornly ingrained. Academic research regularly shows that more than half of women will experience sexual harassment at least once in their careers, while some emerging evidence suggests that sexual harassment against men – though at lower levels – is on the rise.
Nor it seems has the widespread deployment of staff working from home since the start of the pandemic done much to alleviate the problem.
A recent report from the Fawcett Society found that 45 per cent of women who were harassed at work during lockdown were targeted online in the form of sexual messages, cyber harassment and lewd telephone calls. A quarter said the harassment had escalated since the start of the pandemic.
Why does this behaviour remain endemic? According to Felicia Willow, interim chief executive of the Fawcett Society, employers are still not equipped to manage reports made by victims, with a culture focused on managing liability rather than stopping the perpetrators.
In response to its consultation on harassment in the workplace, the Government has said it will bring forward legislation requiring employers to take “all reasonable steps” to prevent sexual harassment at work. New guidance and a statutory code of practice will make organisations more clearly liable for the conduct not only of employees, but also customers, clients and other third parties.
It has been argued, however, that much could be done through the effective implementation of current legal obligations under the Equality Act.
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Many victims don’t bother to report their perpetrators because they don’t believe their employer will take action, or they fear for their job security. Worry of disgrace or embarrassment plays a part as well, particularly among male victims.
Workplace culture flows from the top. Senior managers must be actively involved in shaping organisational attitudes towards all types of harassment and discrimination in the workplace, rather than relying on the HR department to issue an annual training programme or survey.
Those who continually refuse to get their house in order might take comfort from the fact that so many have skirted their obligations for such a long time, but with stricter legal requirements on the horizon, dodging the bullet will become increasingly risky.
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