Bystander approaches to sexual harassment

Our Work, Our Lives Conference Sept 2011

Paula McDonald Queensland University of Technology

Michael Flood University of Wollongong

With the support of Tina Graham, QUT

*Commercial research project funded by the Australian Human Rights Commission

Background and Overview



an unwelcome sexual advance, or an unwelcome request for sexual favours or other unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature in circumstances in which a reasonable person would have anticipated that the person harassed would be offended, humiliated or intimidated (SDA, Section 28A) Workplace SH persistent, pervasive, damaging Current strategies less than effective Why bystander approaches are under-examined underWhy bystander approaches could prove useful What is meant by a bystander?

    

SH from the perspective of bystanders



Witnesses to SH Frequent; clustering Psychological + social impacts on bystanders Negative impacts similar to targets, even if not unwelcome; also affects men Perceptual differences Threshold of saying SH has occurred lower if: the observer is female, the behaviour more severe, the perpetrator is a supervisor, the behaviour is reported immediately, it is clear that behaviour is unwelcome (assertive response), the harasser is married/unattractive What do bystanders do in cases of SH?

Bystander interventions in violence prevention



Framing interventions as prevention Types of violence Primary, secondary, tertiary Existing strategies Vary by targeted population Vary by type of intervention strategy Effectiveness of strategies Examples

Insights from other fields



Social psychology; emergencies Perceived justice violation Social identity Scope of justice Voice mechanisms Levels of involvement Individual or collective strategies Whistle blowing

Legal and Organizational Challenges



Vicarious liability What constitutes organisational knowledge? Organisational risk Victimization Ensuring bystanders safety Legal precedents

Towards a prevention framework



Prevention strategies should: Incorporate the principles learned from violence prevention strategies, especially enlisting men s involvement Draw from knowledge of thresholds of recognition from bystander perceptual studies in designing training / policy Consider vicarious liability provisions and the potential for victimisation evident in studies of whistle blowers Design grievance procedures consistent with effective voice mechanisms