A significant step has been taken in Australia recently with the passing of the Respect at Work legislation, impact workplace safety and industry laws for all Australian workplaces. The Respect at Work report, from sex discrimination commissioner Kate Jenkins, was released in early 2020 and included 55 recommendations about what could be done to stamp out sexual harassment in Australian workplaces.

Why is this significant?

The significant component of these changes is placing a positive duty on employers to prevent sexual harassment. This is not a test about how well an organisation responds once they become aware of sexual harassment, or whether or not they have training and support in place, it’s about taking steps to take reasonable and proportionate measures to eliminate discriminatory conduct.

This means organisations will need to be more open and accountable about what is happening in their workplaces and engaging in early and primary prevention to effectively prevent, in addition to upholding their responsibility to those impacted by sexual harassment.

What is early and primary prevention?

The image below describes the range of prevention approaches, and what is clear is that workplaces need to engage in all four to be effective. However, many organisations focus their resources on response-based work, with little interventions for early/secondary and primary prevention.

Of course, what is considered to be ‘‘reasonable and proportionate measures will vary between employers and consider the size, nature and circumstances of the employers’ business; practicality and cost measures. However, it earns that organisations can no longer play the ignorance card. Having no or low rates of reporting is no badge of honour; instead, workplaces should be measuring staff satisfaction about their response processes; ongoing support and prevention initiatives.

What can my workplace do?

Ensure you have an ongoing staffing group or committee that considers Diversity and Inclusion, and has the support of senior leadership, including senior leaders as members, to uphold accountability and make resources available.

It is critical that this work is seen as part of the organisational success strategy, and crucial to core business. Without this, it can be treated as an add-on.

This group can be responsible for overseeing a review of policy, processes, and practice to determine a clear strategy and action plan that prioritises recovery, response, early and primary prevention.

Remember, you will have some data an insight available, make sure you use these and only collect data where there are gaps. Survey and focus group fatigue is real, and those who have provided feedback will need to hear about the impact their feedback or recommendations have had. So, ensure there is a strong communication plan in place to ensure staff are aware of the work being done, have an opportunity to contribute and reflect, and are clear on the next steps.

How can KP consulting help?

KP Consulting provides a range of expert services to support you in this area and to be flexible about budget and organisational structure, including:

· One off free 30-minute call to discuss your needs

· Deep dive session for a few hours to dive into your current organisational practice and highlight gaps and opportunities

· Environmental investigations protocol and training to address and prevent a hostile environment

· Consultancy on developing and implementing a prevention strategy and evaluation framework

· Training for Respect at Work contacts – staff volunteers who are trained and supported to receive disclosures, outline informal resolutions processes and signpost to support.

Get in touch today, email kelsey@kelseypaskeconsulting.com