How (and why) to assess your situation

You didn’t ask to be sexually harassed. So you probably don’t have a plan.

That’s why experts say, before you do anything else, you should take some time to assess your situation.

Here’s what you’re trying to figure out.

Does your work seem like the kind of place that tolerates harassment?

Here are some questions you can ask yourself:

• Is your workplace aggressive and competitive?
• Is leadership mostly men?
• Do some people at your work have a lot of power and others very little?
• Do people talk and joke about sex a lot?
• Do people openly make fun of other people?
• Are people openly racist or sexist?
• Have you ever seen anyone treated badly and nobody stopped it?
• Is there anybody who harasses people, and everybody knows about it, but nobody has stopped them?

Those are all signs, research has found, that a workplace may handle sexual harassment poorly.

Some more questions:

• Does your workplace seem like it cares about fairness?
• Does your boss seem to care about you as a person?
• Is there an HR department?
• Have you ever had sexual harassment training at work?
• Is there a sexual harassment policy that’s easily available to you?
• Is your workplace pretty balanced in terms of gender?
• Are there women, queer people, and racialized people in leadership positions?
• If you wanted to, would you be able to report to someone who is not a man?
• Do you know and trust the person you’d be reporting to?
• When people at your work behave badly, does anybody stop them?
• Does your workplace seem like it respects the people who work there?
• Does it seem like it cares about them as people?

If any of those describe your workplace, that suggests your employer may handle sexual harassment well.

This matters because employers vary a lot. Some are great and will quickly take steps to solve the problem. Some are awful and will punish you for even bringing it up. (That’s against the law, but it happens anyway, a lot.)

Are there co-workers you can talk with?

A good co-worker will believe you and support you. They might give you useful information and advice. They might be able to protect you from the person who’s harassing you, or help you persuade your bosses to take the harassment seriously.

A bad co-worker may judge you and gossip about you, which can really damage your reputation and standing at work.

That’s why it’s worth taking some time to figure out who seems trustworthy.

Are there people with power at your work you might be able to trust?

Think about the people with power at your workplace:

• your own supervisor
• your supervisor’s boss, if they have one
• people in HR or scheduling
• anybody who has been working there for a long time 
• anybody other people seem to take seriously
• anybody in a position of authority
• your union rep, or other union officials
• anyone with responsibility for worker health and safety

Is there anyone who seems morally serious? Is there anyone you’ve seen defend someone weaker than they are, or step in to stop bad behaviour?

Later you might want to talk to someone with power and get their advice or help. It’s worth thinking now about who you might pick.

Is there a sexual harassment policy, and if so what does it say?

Some employers have a sexual harassment policy and some don’t. Large ones usually do.

If yours does, it might be posted on a wall, or on the company intranet if there is one. Sometimes it will be part of an employee handbook or an HR manual. It might include the phrase “sexual harassment,” or “workplace harassment,” “workplace violence,” “sexual violence,” “gender-based violence,” “respect in the workplace,” “code of conduct,” or “code of practice.”

If you can’t find anything, you might be able to get a copy from your union or HR rep. You may want to avoid saying why you want it.

If you’re a union member, your collective agreement might also have information about sexual harassment. You can ask your union rep for a copy.

If your employer has a policy, it’s good for you to know what it says. If they don’t, that’s useful information too. At this point, you’re just gathering  information, and the more you have, the better.

What other supports might be available to you?

• Some employers have an Employee Assistance Program, which offers confidential services for workers who are having personal and/or work-related problems. EAPs often provide free counselling. You can ask HR if there’s an EAP at your workplace.
• Some employers have health and safety committees, whose job is to make sure the workplace is safe. You can ask around to find out if your workplace has one.
• If you’re unionized and don’t know who your rep is, this is a good time to find out. You might also want to investigate whether your union has people dedicated to gender or human rights issues. Look for phrases like “human rights officer,” “women’s committee,” or “women’s caucus.”
• For some jobs, there are professional associations or membership organizations. Like the Canadian Support Workers Association, the Canadian Teachers Federation, and Chartered Professional Accountants Canada.
• Some industries have associations representing workers with particular identities. Like the Federal Black Employee Caucus for Black people in the federal public service, and the Canadian Coalition of Women in Engineering, Science, Trades and Technology.
• Big employers sometimes have groups for workers with particular identities, like women, or queer people, or Indigenous people, or people with disabilities. These are often called “employee resource groups.” (Spotify has some, as do Magna, Air Canada, Manulife, BMO, Telus, and CIBC.) Sometimes these groups are official (sponsored by the employer) and sometimes they’re not.
• You might be able to find informal groups or communities online. Like, there’s a Facebook group for women welders in Canada. There’s the Canadian Restaurant Workers Coalition. There’s Women in Forestry Canada. There’s a subreddit for women in tech. There’s the Migrant Workers Alliance for Change. Serving with Pride supports queer employees in policing, corrections, and criminal justice professions. There’s the Indigenous Professional Association of Canada.

---