SAFE VOICE
SafeVoice is a platform that provides a confidential and secure space for individuals to report incidents of abuse, misconduct, or harassment. It empowers users to speak up without fear of retaliation, ensuring their safety and privacy while promoting accountability and creating safer environments.
DEFINITION OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT
Sexual harassment is unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature, which makes a person feel
offended, humiliated and/or intimidated. It includes situations where a person is asked to
engage in sexual activity as a condition of that person’s employment, as well as situations,
which create an environment, which is hostile, intimidating or humiliating for the recipient.
Sexual harassment can involve one or more incidents and actions constituting harassment may
be physical, verbal, and non-verbal. Examples of conduct or behavior which constitute sexual
harassment include, but are not limited to:
Physical conduct
- Unwelcome physical contact including patting, pinching, stroking, kissing, hugging,
fondling, or inappropriate touching. - Physical violence, including sexual assault.
- Physical contact, e.g., touching, pinching.
- The use of job-related threats or rewards to solicit sexual favors Verbal conduct.
- Comments on a worker’s appearance, age, private life, etc.
- Sexual comments, stories, and jokes
- Sexual advances
- Repeated and unwanted social invitations for dates or physical intimacy
- Insults based on the sex of the worker.
- Condescending or paternalistic remarks
- Sending sexually explicit messages (by phone or by email) Non-verbal conduct
- Display of sexually explicit or suggestive material.
- Sexually suggestive gestures
- Whistling
- Leering.
PREVENTION FROM SEXUAL HARASSMENT
- Always work in an open environment avoiding private or unobserved situations.
- Encourage open communication.
- Treat all staff equally with respect and dignity.
- Always put the welfare of each person first.
- Take all allegations of abuse seriously.
- Do not just rely on your good name to protect you – always think carefully about your
behaviour and how others might perceive it.
PRACTICES NEVER TO BE SANCTIONED
AAAZ members/staff should never:
- Engage in rough physical or sexually provocative games,
- Share a room with employees of the opposite sex,
- Allow or engage in any form of inappropriate touching,
- Allow staff to use inappropriate language unchallenged,
- Make sexually suggestive comments to anyone even in fun,
- Allow allegations made by a person to go unchallenged, unrecorded or not acted upon,
- Do things of a personal nature for children that they can do for themselves.