Work-related gendered violence is an OHS issue
The concept of workplace safety has evolved – at long last (thanks to tireless campaigning by the union movement) it’s about more than just physical hazards.
(This article was first published in The Point, Term 2 edition earlier this year).
Being “work safe” these days is about feeling safe at work, and that includes being free from gendered violence.
Gendered violence is any behaviour, action, system, or structure that causes physical, sexual, psychological, or economic harm to a worker because of their sex, gender, sexual orientation or because they do not adhere to dominant gender stereotypes or socially prescribed gender roles.
It includes any action or behaviour that makes a person feel uncomfortable, unsafe, threatened, ashamed, inferior, excluded, embarrassed, or humiliated for being a woman or identifying as LGBTIQ.
What it looks like
workplace practices that exclude, such as part-time staff being overlooked for promotion, training opportunities and skills development
a lack of safe systems of work for pregnant workers
tolerance of sexual innuendos/ jokes
work systems that make it hard for parents to work, including rostering shifts that clash with childcare responsibilities
sexual harassment and assault
taking work and credit for the work of others
dismissing, undermining, or minimising workers.
Smart workplaces are aware of the impacts of poor workplace safety. Gendered violence reduces productivity by making workers more insular and self-protective, reducing morale and down time, and creating an atmosphere of distrust where workers are less willing to share ideas.
Standards erode, more accidents happen. More workers leave.
How gendered violence affects workers:
physical injury and illness
loss of confidence and feelings of isolation and anxiety
PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder)
chronic stress
suicidal thoughts and behaviours
social isolation, family dislocation
financial loss or economic disadvantage
Historically, many women who quit jobs because of gendered violence left without revealing why. Only now are we starting to appreciate that many of them were victims of poor cultures and didn’t feel empowered to seek improvements. They just left when sexual harassment, bullying and having one’s work undervalued became unbearable.
This is where collectivism has such power – if all of a workplace refuses to accept poor behaviour, it is much easier to force change. When the individual is intimidated and ostracised, on the other hand, change is unlikely.
Workplaces that allow gendered violence affect more than the individual – a stressed worker takes their pain home with them, and it affects their relationships with friends and family.
Countering gendered violence takes more than box-ticking and token assurances – reporting systems which don’t lead to real outcomes increase the risk of injury by 70%.
The risk of work-related gendered violence is increased if power is distributed unequally along gendered lines, if a culture of sexism, homophobia and norms that support gendered violence is present, or if violent and aggressive behaviour is supported, accepted or rewarded.
During the federal election campaign, Labor vowed to strengthen laws to make it clear employers must take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment at work, a key recommendation of the Sex Discrimination Commissioner’s Respect@Work report. This change will confirm that employers have a positive duty to keep their staff safe from sexual harassment.
Often there are only consequences for employers after sexual harassment has occurred, and only if victims are brave enough to risk their careers by making a formal complaint.
This can lead to employers discouraging victims from making complaints, instead of providing a safe working environment, free from sexual harassment.