Malachi Specialist Family Support Services CIC:

Preventing Sexual Harassment Policy

Introduction

Malachi is committed to providing an inclusive and supportive environment in which all employees feel safe. This policy applies to all Malachi employees, wherever they are working. We recognise that sexual harassment could take place anywhere, including in schools, in family homes or wherever sessions are delivered. We will work with our partners and stakeholders to ensure our policy on preventing sexual harassment is shared; having policies that are aligned and clearly communicated is essential in protecting our team. We treat sexual harassment by third parties seriously and expect employees to report instances to us.

This document serves two key functions. Firstly, it aims to prevent sexual harassment in any form whilst at the same time setting out a clear procedure if incidents occur.

Prevention

• Build a culture where everyone is empowered to prevent sexual harassment
• Working with schools and other stakeholders to share our policy, to be aware of their policies and ensure that we are aligned in our working practices
• Raising awareness and improving understanding of what sexual harassment is
• Considering sexual harassment when completing Risk Assessment
• Ongoing training to ensure this policy and associated processes are known and understood.

Procedure

The procedure element of this document sets out the steps taken when any employee feels that they have been the victim of sexual harassment or when they have concerns that a colleague has experienced sexual harassment. This will include an investigation, which may lead to disciplinary action should the harasser be a Malachi employee, in line with our Disciplinary Policy. Malachi will never treat anyone less favourably because they have submitted a complaint of sexual harassment.

Part 1: Prevention

What is Sexual Harassment?

Sexual harassment is prohibited under the Equality Act 2010 and constitutes a breach of human rights. It occurs when a person is subjected to unwanted conduct of a sexual nature which has the purpose or the effect of:

• violating the person’s dignity, or
• creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for that person.

Unwanted conduct that has one of these effects can be harassment even if the effect was not intended. A single one-off event or a series of incidents can amount to sexual harassment. A person can be affected by sexual harassment even if the conduct is not targeted at them.

It is important to be aware that anyone can be a victim of sexual harassment, regardless of their sex, sexual orientation or gender identity or that of the harasser. Sexual harassment may also occur between people of the same sex.

Sexual harassment is often a manifestation of power relationships and frequently occurs within unequal relationships in the workplace, for example between manager and a more junior colleague, or a longstanding employee and someone who is new to Malachi. It frequently arises as the result of sexism and power inequalities between women and men.

What is ‘unwanted conduct’?

Unwanted conduct covers a wide range of behaviour which is unwanted or unwelcome. Types of behaviours 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 and rape
• The use of job-related threats or rewards to solicit sexual favours
• Failure to observe personal space
• Sexual favours
• Sexual advances

Verbal conduct

• Banter
• Mimicry
• Comments on a worker’s appearance, age, private life, etc.
• Sexual comments, stories, jokes or pranks
• Repeated and unwanted social invitations for dates or physical intimacy
• Insults based on the sex of the worker
• Condescending or paternalistic remarks
• Sending/sharing sexually explicit messages/images (by any medium)
• Coercion
• Gaslighting (a form of covert emotional abuse)

Non-verbal conduct

• Display of sexually explicit or suggestive material or imagery
• Graffiti
• Acts affecting a person’s surroundings
• Posts or contact on social media
• Sexually suggestive gestures
• Whistling
• Leering and suggestive facial expressions

The effect of such behaviour and whether it is unwanted should be considered from the point of view of the person who feels harassed. There may be sexual behaviour, which though not unwanted, is still inappropriate whilst at work. For example, engaging in a consensual sexual act in the workplace. We do not permit sexual contact in the workplace and any such behaviour may still be addressed as a breach of the sexual harassment policy because there is a risk of one party believing that the conduct is welcome and the other considering the conduct to be unwanted, either at the time or in hindsight. Even when sexual behaviour is consensual, it is inappropriate and may lead to disciplinary action being taken in line with our Disciplinary Policy.

Examples of sexual harassment

The following examples provide illustrations of the types of behaviours that constitute sexual harassment. They are not exhaustive; there are many more examples of such behaviour. What is important to note is that sexual harassment can arise in various forms and to different degrees.

Scenario: A WhatsApp group is set up for Family Support Workers who are new to Malachi. Colleagues use the group to share how they’re feeling in their new role, as well as to circulate questions and humorous/motivational gifs and images. One colleague shares sexually explicit images, often accompanied by a laughing face emoji. Other colleagues in the group feel uncomfortable and are unsure how to react, with some responding with emojis. They do not want to cause trouble, so rather than ‘make a fuss’, they gradually start to withdraw from the conversation.

Exploration: The person sending inappropriate images is in a group with colleagues and must be aware that sending sexually explicit images of any kind is unacceptable. This would also apply to innuendo or jokes that are sexual, sexist, misogynistic whether they are ironic or not. Anyone in the group should follow the procedure detailed in Part Two of this document, namely raising a concern with their line manager. This example demonstrates that sexual harassment can targeted at more than one person.

Summary of Examples

Conversations about sex, sexual acts, bodies, sexual attractiveness are never acceptable at work unless it has a professional context. Any actions that are sexually suggestive or expressive are never acceptable at work. This includes innuendo and humour; what one person finds funny another may find offensive. This applies in any work context whether in an office setting, a school or a family home. We always aim to create an environment where all workers feel safe and empowered to work to the best of their ability.

When does this policy apply?

This policy applies to any unwanted conduct that occurs during the course of a person’s work. This includes office environments, schools or family homes. This policy also applies while staff are conducting virtual sessions, including telephone calls, Teams meetings, emails or social media including WhatsApp.
This policy also applies whether the alleged perpetrator is a member of staff or not. Sexual harassment of staff will not be tolerated, whether caused by those that work here or third parties including people from families we support, staff in schools and other professionals. Any instance of work-related sexual harassment should be reported in line with this policy, regardless of who the alleged perpetrator is.

Scenario: A member of staff wears a very low cut top in a training session. Other colleagues in the training feel embarrassed and uncomfortable, even though they know their colleague didn’t mean any harm. They try to look away and concentrate on their training.

Exploration: This should be addressed by any colleague in the room by letting their line manager know they feel uneasy. This example demonstrates how sexual harassment doesn’t need to be intentional.

Risk assessment

Due to the nature of our itinerant work, we must consider the potential for encountering harassment in different environments. Harassment and sexual harassment should be noted during a Family Support Worker’s initial Risk Assessment. These risks will be mitigated through clearly stating to families that Malachi have a zero tolerance for sexual harassment or harassment of any kind, in addition to ensuring that all staff fully understand this policy i.e. our workers know what sexual harassment is and feel confident to report it.

Staff Training

All staff will receive training on sexual harassment in their induction and then annually. This training will involve working through this policy to discuss and fully understand what sexual harassment is, how we are working together to prevent it and what to do if it occurs. This includes including sexual harassment as part of every Risk Assessment Family Support Workers complete at the beginning for work with a family.

All Line Managers as well as Senior Leadership Team and Senior Family Support Workers will receive training on how to respond should a colleague come to them with a concern about sexual harassment. This will be done as part of training received when they commence their management role with refresher training delivered annually. All managers must fully understand the procedure in Part Two of this policy, as well as the other associated policies listed at the top of this document.
When anyone raises a concern involving sexual harassment, it is the responsibility of the person who that staff member raised the concern with to support and document that concern.

This training is mandatory and will be tracked as per our usual Training Matrix.

Part 2: Procedure

Any employee should report concerns about sexual harassment to their line manager. If you do not feel comfortable having this conversation with your direct line manager, please contact another manager. This applies even when you are not the recipient of unwanted behaviour, but if a colleague reports concerns to you or you have witnessed something concerning. Everyone has a responsibility to safeguard the wellbeing of others; if sexual harassment hasn’t happened to you, you must still report it.

The above also applies to managers and office staff. If you wish to raise a concern of sexual harassment that affects yourself or a colleague, please discuss with your line manager or a member of the senior leadership team.

To clarify, it is possible that anyone within Malachi may have concerns about sexual harassment affecting either themselves or a colleague or colleagues. Being unsure who to report your concerns to, should never be a barrier. If you are unsure, please bring your concern to any manager, verbally or via email.

In-house

After reporting sexual harassment, we will discuss a course of action with you. Your line manager (or other appropriate colleague) will take the details from you or may ask you to prepare a statement and provide any associated evidence e.g. if the sexual harassment has been via emails or text messages.

An initial course of action may be for a manager or senior employee to explain to the colleague who’s behaviour has caused issues, that their actions are causing anxiety or stress to others. This will be done in a sensitive way and doesn’t necessarily need to highlight the name/s of colleague/s who have raised concerns.
Some allegations of sexual harassment may require disciplinary action under our Disciplinary Policy which can lead to dismissal.

We will act swiftly in investigating all allegations and will inform you of the Company’s decisions, bearing in mind GDPR requirements.

Harassment from third parties

Families

Malachi takes a zero- tolerance approach to harassment of any form. If any member of staff feels they have experienced sexual harassment from a family we will:

1. Investigate the complaint with the member of staff and work with them to design a solution
2. a manager will inform the family of the concern
3. depending on the nature of the concern and the wishes of the Family Support Worker, support may be adapted or ceased
4. Any concerns raised about a family will be shared with the commissioning body or customer school. This is regardless of whether work is discontinued or not

From other third parties

It is possible that in the course of our work with other professionals, our employees may be the victim of sexual harassment. Harassment of our staff from third parties will not tolerated.

When you have informed your line manager (or other appropriate colleague) we will jointly decide on the next steps. This will involve informing the employer of the third-party so that they can follow their internal procedures.

• Outcomes involving Malachi Staff may be mediation, Disciplinary Procedure, No further action.
• Outcome for reports regarding third parties may be updating Risk Assessments, changes to working arrangements, ensuring that other agencies are alerted where appropriate.

Support for people affected by sexual harassment

If you’re struggling to cope and need someone to talk to, you can contact the Samaritans on 116 123

The following is where to go for help if you have been affected by any form of sexual violence or abuse:

West Midlands Victim Support Team:
0300 303 1977

HM Government, Sexual Abuse Support:
0808 500 222
247sexualabusesupport.org.uk

If you or someone else is in immediate danger, call 999