How do you report sexual harassment at work?

As a prevention advisor for psychosocial aspects at Mensura, Heidi Henkens guides organisations through the roll-out of their prevention policy for psychosocial risks.

In addition, she offers support with reports of harassment or undesirable behaviour. “But the policies are often pretty much unknown in the workplace”, she points out. “For example, many employees do not know the procedures available to them, or that they can knock on our door for support.”

For example: I feel like a victim of sexual harassment in the workplace, where can I report this?

Heidi Henkens: “The first person to speak to is your supervisor, unless this is not possible. For example, if this is the person responsible for the behaviour, or because you simply do not trust them. In that case, you can discuss the situation in complete confidence with an internal confidential advisor. Large companies also have an internal prevention advisor for psychosocial aspects.

If you work in a small organisation, or if you don’t feel comfortable discussing your story with an internal colleague, you can always contact your external prevention service. It is mandatory for the contact details of the confidential adviser, prevention advisor and external prevention service to be recorded in the work regulations.”
 

What do you do if you make a report?

Heidi Henkens: “First of all, the person always has the opportunity to tell their side of the story, and we offer the necessary shelter and care to facilitate this. Everything we do after that is always done in consultation and with the consent of the person concerned.

Depending on the type of report, I ask whether the person in question would like to go to the other party and tell them their behaviour is unwanted, hurtful, insulting or humiliating. Or if the person is prepared to talk to their supervisor. All this is part of the so-called informal procedure.

The focus of the informal procedure is always on highlighting and stopping the harassment. Whether the behaviour actually took place or not is not always the focus of attention. Sometimes, the actor is behaving in an undesirable way without even realising the behaviour is undesirable, or that they are acting beyond the boundaries of the other party. It is important to realise that everyone is responsible for respecting the boundaries of others.

When at work, expressions of sexuality, physicality, flirtatious behaviour and anything that touches a person’s relationship life can never be considered a neutral act. It is important to take this into account. There are always going to be people who don’t feel comfortable with certain behaviours. This is why it is always advisable to be alert. When someone sets a boundary concerning this, and then states they have experienced specific behaviour in which that boundary is transgressed, those boundaries must be respected. Even if permission or consent was given previously to such behaviour.

In addition to the informal procedure, as a prevention advisor, I can also mediate in the presence of both parties. For such an action, I do need the explicit permission of those involved because it cannot be done anonymously of course.”

Is the external prevention service limited to having a mediating role, or can they also submit an official complaint?

Heidi Henkens: “This is certainly possible, but then we end up in the formal procedure. In our legislation, we define this as a “request” rather than “complaint” because we cannot yet make a statement as to whether the facts are true or not at this stage. This what the investigation needs to uncover. When a formal procedure starts, the applicant enjoys protection and we, as an external prevention service, must follow a certain procedure.

I inform the employer that an investigation is underway to analyse the situation and to collect any evidence, which may include text messages, WhatsApp messages, e-mails, photos, testimonials, other victims (if there are any) and so on. The other party is also provided with an opportunity to give their version of the facts.

Upon completion of the investigation, I draw up my advice for the employer: this can range from preparing a set of very clear rules of conduct, offering coaching or training for those involved, as well as a sanction or removal from the position if the investigation clearly shows the behaviour was transgressive. The unwanted behaviour must stop, but the team must also be able to move on and avoid similar situations in the future.”
 

What if criminal offences have been committed?

Heidi Henkens: “Again: professional secrecy means the actions a prevention advisor are limited to those the victim consents to. In the event of a suspected criminal offence, I of course offer the advice that it should be reported to the police. We are after all primarily an advisory body and this is as far as we can go.

And admittedly, criminal cases often fail due to a lack of evidence. It also cannot be ignored that sometimes the sexual harassment originates from a situation in which both parties initially consented. That is until one of the parties steps over the line. This is why we often conduct an investigation ourselves, even in the case of a suspected criminal offence, to see whether a safe situation can be created within the work context.”

Are there actually any situations that increase the risks of sexual harassment at work?

Heidi Henkens: “Alcohol always blurs boundaries. Staff parties and other circumstances in which people are drinking will always create risk. Take care of newcomers to the organisation. They would have worked in a different corporate culture until recently and are not yet familiar with the culture of their new employer. They may still be testing the waters and feeling insecure, and therefore more vulnerable.

But the most attention has to be paid to power relations. As soon as there is a hierarchical relationship between two people, the subordinate is generally reluctant to set or defend their boundaries. Power relations can cause additional confusion, especially in industries in which colleagues are quite free when they interact with each.”

This balance of power has always been there, and you can see that in cases that come up in the media.

Heidi Henkens: “This is absolutely true. The fact that victims are being more assertive and more willing to raise the alarm is a positive development in any case. But it should not mean the responsibility falls on their shoulders alone. Every supervisor new to his or her role must acknowledge that the role they have acquired comes with great responsibility. Every power relationship has boundaries that must be respected.

Fortunately, employers take harassment very seriously these days. We have noticed this thanks to an increase in questions about policy and a code of conduct. The #MeToo movement has been a clear wake-up call in workplaces as well.”
 

Little may be known about the official procedures, but are people not afraid of the consequences in terms of their career?

Heidi Henkens: “Victims sometimes fear that a report or complaint could have an impact on their career. Or that they will not be believed, especially when a manager is involved. This is precisely why victims are given the opportunity to go to an internal confidential counsellor or their external prevention service without their employer knowing about it.

Sexual harassment is sometimes the result of workplace culture. How do we turn it around?

Heidi Henkens: “As an employer, it is important you establish and document the kind of behaviour you will and will not tolerate in the workplace. This will help make discussions about undesirable behaviour go smoothly. Mensura organises workshops to support teams with this.

The discussions start with a series of actual situations and associated questions: for example, are dress codes useful, i.e. should bare shoulders be allowed or banned? How do employees feel about topless pictures in locker rooms? What about paying compliments about the appearance of colleagues?

During the workshops, we work out the code of conduct together so it will be supported by the entire team immediately. And we use the different reactions we get during the workshops to raise awareness: everyone has their own boundaries, so respect is the key word.”