Sexual harassment topic

Esther Ewing EwingChange at aol.com
Thu Apr 7 08:01:29 PDT 2005



Hi all:
I agree with Ralph that someone with an issue of sexual harassment  might
wish to consider what they would like to get out of a  discussion.

If they are hoping to deal with a specific incident or  pattern of incidents,
hopefully the organization needs to have procedures in  place for dealing
with this. For example, in Ontario, Canada, I am aware that  one of the first
things that an employee experiencing harassment is asked to do  is to request in
front of one other person that this person stop their  behaviour. It's a
prerequisite to everything else and if the behaviour then goes  away, nothing else
needs to happen. But the harasser must not be able to say  that they were
unaware of the problem or to say that they didn't know their  attentions were
unwelcome.

In more than one of the organizations I know about,  that is just the first
step in an escalation of procedures well defined and laid  out by the corporate
lawyers.

However, if what they are trying to achieve is some  discussion that might
lead to the formulating of corporate procedures/support  for the harassee or
other discussions of values in the workplace, etc., then  Open Space is a
wonderful place to begin the discussion.

Just some thoughts
Esther

Hi,

A number of times in OS, participants have come to me and  asked for help
wording a sensitive or complex topic.  Longtime amateur  wordsmith that I am,
I usually try to offer simple technical  assistance.  When the topic on their
mind is very sensitive, I suggest  they find language that is clear but not
incendiary and that when they get  into the session to make very clear what
they have in mind.

Another  way to help such a person might be to suggest the topic be in  the
strongest, clearest possible language to which they have no trouble  signing
their name.

With regard to sexual harassment specifically,  in the US (and I imagine
elsewhere) there are laws that cover such offenses  that aim to protect
workers from abuse.  An organization's lawyers  ought to know about any
alleged incidents so they may be investigated  fully.  They should also be
informed about patterns of harassment,  where specifics may be hard to pin
down.  Open conversations about who  is doing what to whom may lead to
mention of names, allegations against  individuals that cannot be supported
by facts, embarrassment for those who  have been harassed, and other painful
possibilities.  Encouraging  simple, open discussion on any topic by any
persons at any time may not be  the best way to deal with this.  Let us all
be very  careful.

This is not to say that such topics are inappropriate for open  space.  I
think they are appropriate.  But it's a question of how  to be helpful if a
participant seeks our guidance about such a  posting.

Ralph  Copleman

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Esther Ewing
The Change Alliance
330 East 38th St., Suite  53K
New York, NY 10016, USA
Telephone: 212-661-6024, Fax:  866-296-6712

Assisting organizations to build capability
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