Addressing sexual harassment in a WHS framework: Charting a course (October 2023)
Webinar presented by:
Professor Rachel Cox (University of Québec, Montréal), with commentary provided by Jodi Peskett (Fair Foundations)
Wednesday 11 October 2023
About the event
In this talk, Rachel discussed issues that arise when we integrate prevention of sexual harassment into a work health and safety (WHS) framework. Should prevention of sexual harassment be integrated into psychosocial risk management? In Québec, this has led to sexual harassment being neglected as a prevention priority. .
Should it be covered by prevention measures for violence and harassment in general?
In Canada, this has led to a gender-neutral approach where risks for women and risks associated with women’s work have been sidelined.
Should prevention of sexual harassment be found in a stand-alone policy? This could facilitate adoption of specific risk identification processes (for example, anonymous surveys), tailored training (bystander interventions, etc.) and appropriate support for targets. Yet a stand-alone policy for sexual harassment risks artificially detaching sexual harassment prevention from prevention of other work-related risks, cutting it off from the continuous improvement and participatory mechanisms of the general WHS framework.
These dilemmas play out differently in different national legal frameworks. Starting from the legal landscape of Québec, Rachel looked for principles that help balance out the various considerations at play in the design of WHS measures to prevent sexual harassment.
This was followed by a short presentation from Jodi Peskett, who provided comments on these proposals from an Australian perspective.
About the speakers
Rachel Cox is a member of the Québec Bar and a Professor of Law at the University of Québec in Montréal. She is interested in the intersections of WHS and equality rights, and in particular the regulation of gender-based violence at work, including domestic violence. Rachel favours interdisciplinary approaches to the study of work and often conducts partnership research with unions and women’s groups. In 2022-2023, she presided over an Expert Committee on Recourse for Sexual Harassment and Sexual Assault at Work charged with making recommendations for public policy and legislative reform to the Ministry of Labour in Québec. The Ministry recently announced that it intends to implement a majority of the Report’s recommendations.
Jodi Peskett brings experience and passion to her work at Fair Foundations, a consultancy project that she started with Pia Cerveri. Jodi has a Master Degree in Gender and Development and a Certificate IV in Work Health and Safety, and she has worked in gender equality advocacy at home, in the Asia Pacific and internationally. She held the co-lead role of the Women’s and Equality team at Victorian Trades Hall Council (VTHC) where she coordinated a number of campaigns including the Stop Gendered Violence at Work campaign. Prior to her role at VTHC, Jodi worked for a small gender equality not-for-profit where she project managed the Australian Civil Society 20 year Review of the Beijing Platform for Action.