SEXUAL AND WORKPLACE HARASSMENT

1
SEXUAL AND WORKPLACE HARASSMENT

• Near North District School Board Policy

2
FREEDOM FROM HARASSMENT IN THE WORKPLACE

• The Board is committed to providing a
  non-discriminatory working environment in which
  all persons are treated with respect and dignity.
• Any employee, volunteer, agent or student who is
  found to have engaged in conduct that constitutes
  harassment will be subject to disciplinary
  action.
• The Board will not tolerate any type of reprisal,
  actual or threatened against a person who
  initiates or contemplates initiating a complaint.

3
OBJECTIVES

• The promotion, through education and prevention
  strategies, of a working/learning environment of
  respect that is free from any form of
  discrimination and harassment
• The alerting of all employees/students/agents of
  the Board to the fact that discrimination and
  harassment in the workplace are against the law
• The provision of examples of behaviour that may
  be considered offensive
• The establishment of procedures for receiving,
  addressing and resolving complaints of
  harassment and,
• The declaration that, regardless of seniority or
  position, all persons found to have engaged in
  conduct that constitutes harassment will be
  disciplined.

4
EXPRESSIONS OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT

• Practical jokes of a sexual nature which cause
  awkwardness or embarrassment
• Unwelcome remarks, jokes or innuendoes, or
  taunting about a person's body, attire, sex or
  sexual orientation
• Displays of pornographic pictures or other
  offensive material
• Leering (suggestive staring) or other gestures
• Unnecessary physical contact such as touching,
  patting, pinching or intentional sexual touching
• Letters, e-mails, telephone calls containing
  sexual material or overtones
• Pressure for dates or sexual favors and
• Inquiries or comments about a person's body, sex
  life, relationships or physical appearance.

5
RESPONSIBILITES OF INDIVIDUALS

• Good sense prevails in all situations
• All complaints are treated seriously and with
  sensitivity
• Every attempt is made to preserve the dignity and
  self-respect of all persons involved
• Complaints are resolved in an expeditious and
  appropriate manner.

6
RIGHTS OF INDIVIDUALS

• Every person has the right to freedom from
  harassment in the workplace/learning environment
  because of race, ancestry, place of origin,
  color, ethnic origin, citizenship, creed, age,
  record of offenses, marital status, sex, family
  status or handicap.

7
SEXUAL HARASSMENT

• Sexual harassment is any deliberate and
  unsolicited sexual comment, suggestion or
  physical contact that creates an uncomfortable
  environment for the recipient. Sexual harassment
  may also be a single sexual advance, particularly
  by one in authority that includes or implies a
  threat and/or a reprisal made after a sexual
  advance is rejected. Examples of advances that
  constitute sexual and/or workplace harassment
  include

8
SEXUAL HARASSMENT (CONTINUED)

• Conduct that has the purpose or effect of
  interfering with an individual's work, study or
  academic performance and/or creating a negative
  psychological and emotional environment for work,
  study and/or academic performance
• Explicit or implied threats to an individual's
  employment, education, academic status or
  academic accreditation, due to lack of submission
  to such conduct

9

• Sexual harassment must be differentiated from
  sexual assault which is an act committed, or
  threatened, in circumstances of a sexual nature
  such as to violate the sexual integrity of the
  victim. Sexual assault is a serious criminal
  offence which must be reported to the police.

10
WORKPLACE HARASSMENT

• Examples of workplace harassment include but are
  not limited to
• conduct, comments, gestures or contacts that are
  known or ought to be known by the person
  initiating them to be unwelcome
• demeaning comments which undermine self-respect
  and
• display or distribution on Board premises of
  offensive material in such forms as pictures,
  cartoons and graffiti.

11
The Policy goes on to explain

• Confidentiality and Security of Records
• The Consensual Approach
• The Formal Approach
• Follow Up on the Final Report of the
  Investigative Committee

12
The Follow up could include

• a) A formal apology
• b) Counselling and/or education about
  harassment
• c) A written warning
• A change of work assignment of the respondent
  (or
• complainant)
• e) Demotion and/or transfer
• Suspension of the employee (with or without pay)
  or
• suspension of the student
• Suspension of the employee (with or without pay)
  pending
• approval for discharge
• h) Termination of employment.

13

• Notwithstanding the existence of this
  administrative guideline, every employee or
  student of the Board continues to have the right
  at any time to seek assistance from the Ontario
  Human Rights Commission, or to seek redress under
  the Criminal Code of Canada, or to seek any other
  statutory or civil remedy or remedies that may be
  available