Sexual harassment is any inappropriate behaviour based on sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or gender expression that occurs at work.

Sexual harassment can include:

• Sexual solicitation and advances (asking for sex in exchange for a promotion)
• A poisoned environment (sexualized images in the workplace)
• Gender-based harassment (targeting someone for not following sex/gender-role stereotypes)
• Violence (if inappropriate sexual behaviour is not dealt with, it may move
  to more serious forms, including sexual assault and other violence)

Sexual harassment can be verbal, visual and/or physical. Sexual harassment can happen to anyone and can include serious and less serious behaviours that can escalate over time.

Workers, job applicants, volunteers and interns are protected against sexual harassment under the Occupational Health and Safety Act.

Sexual Harassment is illegal if committed by anyone in your workplace, including:

• Clients/customers/patients
• Coworkers
• Supervisors/managers
• Employers
• Contractors/delivery people
• Visitors, including family and friends
• Volunteers,
• Board members

Sexual harassment can also include discrimination based on sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, or sexual orientation. Examples of gender-based harassment can include:

• Reinforcing traditional sex-role stereotypes (ie, masculine dominance and female subservience)
• Insulting, mistreating, ignoring or excluding someone because of gender, sexual orientation, or gender identity
• Comments that people are either not good at a particular job or should be prevented from having a particular job because they are a man or woman

If you think you have experienced workplace sexual harassment or know someone who has, you can contact your local community legal centre to learn more about your options. We provide:

• Free legal advice
• Training
• Resource Centre
• Referrals to other services

Many workers do not report sexual harassment because of lack of information, anxiety, lack of trust and concerns about confidentiality in the reporting process.

• 32% of women and 26% of men reported not having received any training/information about how to report sexual harassment and sexual assault
• 34% of women and 35% of men reported not having been instructed on how to access resources to deal with these situations