Where do you draw the line?

17/09/2010: Where do you draw the line? I watched Tuesday's episode of Insight on SBS and the program centred on sexual harassment, particularly focusing on the David Jones case and how it is attracting widespread and divided public scrutiny.

A number of influential lawyers talked about practical examples of how they are seeing their clients and the workplace influenced by Kristy Fraser-Kirk's lawsuit against David Jones and its former CEO, Mark McInnes. The lawyers are reportedly seeing a larger number of enquiries from their clients and more sensitivity around sexual harassment.

If that's what Fraser-Kirk wanted to achieve, then great. But I can't help feeling there is a danger with how blatantly each aspect of the case is being played out in the media. Is this trial by media? Or trial by jury?

Evidently, Fraser-Kirk now has a reputation for both trailblazing and standing up for women's rights or as a "serial complainer" if you believe what you read in the media. I worry for her future employ.

Sexual harassment is a subject that remains taboo and difficult in the workplace, leaving those who are genuinely suffering without anywhere to turn.

No-one should be uncomfortable at work or anywhere else, but how do we help those who are suffering if they can't find support from their own HR departments? And that is Fraser-Kirk's point isn't it? She complained but apparently did not get the appropriate level of help she wanted or needed.

To me, as the whole scenario plays out in the press, there seems to be a tendency to simplify the situation and ignore the real issue at stake by categorising the harasser and victim as either good or bad.

Above all I see a need for more education around what is acceptable behaviour and what is not. This was reinforced on Tuesday night's Insight, when the lawyers said that when inappropriate behaviour was pointed out to perpetrators, they were, on the whole, prepared to stop. In other words, individuals need education around the sensitivities of what harassment is and is not. They need to have it explained.

So what is happening about this sort of education in the workplace? And where do we start if many of the cases brought to bear are really about not understanding boundaries, rather than purposeful harassing behaviour?

In a small business, where relationships are often more family-based or close-knit, the barriers can be just as unclear. Because employees easily and comfortably work across a business due to a company's size, the line between comfortable and uncomfortable can become particularly blurred. And there is often no HR department or function to go to. The boss is HR.

So what can help? Perhaps businesses need to define what is appropriate and not in the workplace — clearly, simply and upfront no matter what their size.

According to the Australian Human Rights Commission, sexual harassment is defined as "unwanted or unwelcome sexual behaviour, which makes a person feel offended or humiliated. It has nothing to do with mutual attraction or consensual behaviour."

The commission says sexual harassment can include:

• "staring, leering or unwelcome touching;
• suggestive comments or jokes;
• sending sexually explicit emails or text messages;
• repeated unwanted requests to go out on dates;
• intrusive questions about a person's private life;
• requests for sex; [or]
• displaying posters, magazines or screen savers of a sexual nature."

Sexual harassment in the workplace isn't just about sexual advances — it can be about discrimination based on sex or gender.

Even the slightest joke can be really uncomfortable. Let your employees know that you care and are concerned, and that they deserve the right to be comfortable in the environment they work in.

With fewer employees, management should be able to address individual uncertainties with genuine concern.

Whatever the solution, I am still uneasy around motives, outcomes, key messages and the solution we so obviously still need to find.

Whether you are an ASX-listed company or a small boutique agency of three people, boundaries and respect are essential to the harmonisation and productivity of your business.

There are many ways to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace. Here are my five strategies for prevention:

1. Adopt a clear policy on sexual harassment.

2. Train employees when they join the company and then regularly thereafter on the definition of your company's take on what sexual harassment is.

3. Train supervisors and managers separately to arm them with how to deal with employee complaints.

4. Monitor your workplace by asking if there is any offensive material or behaviour. Keeping communication open will give confidence to those who need to report a complaint.

5. Take all complaints seriously and act immediately by investigating. If the complaint turns out to be valid, ensure you have a process in place that is swift and effective. The worst thing you can do is be dismissive — make your company a listening company to the threat of sexual harassment.

I hope a positive outcome of this case is it provides those individuals previously scared to speak out with the confidence to do so and to make us as business owners more sympathetic and sensitive to the issue. I also hope that the individuals tasked with the responsibility to listen will be more open to action and to taking appropriate protective measures.

To view Sharon's blog on ninemsn, click here.

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