Safety Of Women In Workplace and Public Transport

Despite company sessions on sexual harassment in the workplace, the issues persist. Harassment in the workplace can be especially difficult, taking a toll on the victim’s mental well-being, productivity and job satisfaction. Here are some helpful tips to combat this issue! There are many forms of harassment in the workplace: this includes verbal harassment, physical harassment and psychological harassment. Its important to understand what form of harassment you are facing to better understand the problem and take action against it. Verbal harassment consists of offensive language, slurs or derogatory comments.

This can be especially damaging to one’s self esteem. Physical harassment involves inappropriate touching, gestures or an invasion of one’s private space. Psychological harassment includes the spreading of false ideas or rumours, exclusion. All of these factors contribute to an employee's decrease in job satisfaction and mental health problems. Incidents like this can be extremely stressful, here are some tips to deal with workplace harassment: 

• Document Everything

Make sure to keep detailed notes of the incidents that occur. Take note of the time, date, location and a thorough description of what happened. Also write down any other individuals that were around at the time of the incident (witnesses). All of this will help make your case stronger and get justice!

• Stand Up For Yourself

If you feel comfortable to do so, set boundaries with the harasser. Be firm, assertive, but yet professional when bringing up your concerns. You can use phrases like “This behaviour makes me feel uncomfortable” or “ I would appreciate it if you directly brought up your concerns with me, rather than spreading false ideas about me”. 

• Make A Formal Complaint To Human Resources

After the conversation, if the same behaviour persists, you must report all the notes, emails, phone calls and face to face interactions to your superior or to human resources. Follow up with Human Resources to make sure your issue has been heard and action is being taken. You could also take legal advice from an attorney.

• Seek Counselling

This could take a serious toll on your mental health and speaking to a counsellor might help to cope with all of this. If you feel uncomfortable speaking to an emotional counsellor, you could talk to a trusted family or friend or speak with someone who has been through something similar.

Facing harassment on public transportation can be extremely disturbing. Its important to understand that harassment is not okay and you are not to blame! Individuals should understand boundaries and personal space. These tips could help you in a situation like this:

• Trust Your Instincts

It’s important to assess the situation at hand and think calmly and carefully about what action you should take. If its a crowded public transport, you could scream and most passengers would come to help you. But, if its an empty bus or train, its better to remove yourself from the situation as soon as possible, as the harasser could try to do more harm than good.

• Ask For Help

Talk to female passengers and ask them for help on how to deal with the situation. You could also alert any conductors or drivers of the transport.

• Use Your Phone

Record the incident, this could help if you decide to make a police complaint against them. You could also use your phone to call any trusted family or friend and ask them for help, or you could call the police and tell them about the situation at hand.

• Protect Yourself!

Always carry some self defence tools such as pepper spray, alarms, tasers or tactical pens. These tools are not necessary, you could also use something as simple as your bag or keys to fight off any harasser. Download apps on your phone to alert people and share your location with trusted people. Learn basic self defence techniques. You could learn these from the video on our website!