International Women’s Day Workshop Discusses Sexual Harassment at Work

Dubai, March 8, 2016: Dr. Louise Lambert, Assistant Professor of Psychology and Ethics at Canadian University Dubai (CUD) advised people facing sexual harassment in the workplace to ‘speak up’ and report the matter to concerned authorities when they feel the ‘line has been crossed’.

Speaking at a workshop on ‘Sexual Harassment at Workplace’ at the university on the eve of International Women’s Day, Dr. Lambert gave an overview of common examples of sexual harassment, common responses, ways of extricating oneself from a situation and the role of HR in handling such issues.

Focusing mainly on student-faculty cases of sexual harassment, she recommended taking a firm line from the start when contracted with ‘unwanted attention’ by way of emails, looks, phone calls, notes, gestures, touch or presence beyond the necessary.

“It is important to speak up. If a student is inappropriate with faculty, the right approach is to demonstrate who the boss is. If the harassment persists, it should be reported. It is also important to document and keep records of emails and other evidence, as such cases may escalate,” she said.

Dr. Louise also underlined the role of HR in creating an environment in which victims will be heard and believed and the case resolved. This should be backed up by proper policies and complaint mechanisms, code of conduct and awareness programs. In some cases, disciplinary action should be taken to resolve particular cases.

The audience, comprised of faculty and students, raised a number of pertinent issues particularly those prevailing in a university environment and recounted their experiences in facing cases of sexual harassment.

Dr. Louise said sexual harassment at universities was more common than generally admitted. She pointed out that some faculty hesitate to speak up because they want to be nice, don’t want to cause trouble, are not comfortable in being assertive, are troubled by a history of not being believed or are under the mistaken belief that such issues are normal for women.

Speaking on behalf of Canadian University Dubai, Hennie Ferreira, HR Director, assured faculty that the university has systems in place to tackle cases of sexual harassment, for the benefit of faculty as well as students. There is a strict code of conduct and the university is ready to take disciplinary action when a particular situation demands, he added.

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