The shocking kidnap and murder of Sarah Everard has shone a light on the issue of safety for women in our society. As we witness the reactions to Sarah\u2019s tragic murder and many women reflect on their own experiences of feeling scared and unsafe, we must challenge our individual and societal responses to the calls for change.<\/p>\n
That change is desperately needed across all areas of life. The most recent\u00a0research\u00a0reveals the shocking level of sexual harassment experienced by women. A recent ONS survey<\/a>\u00a0found\u00a0more\u00a0than four times as many women as men had been\u00a0victims of sexual assault or attempted sexual assault in the year ending March 2020.\u00a0An investigation by the\u00a0UN Women UK<\/a>\u202ffound that 97 per cent of women aged 18-24 have been sexually harassed.<\/p>\n As the Reclaim These\u00a0Streets\u00a0<\/a>movement quite rightly draws attention to women\u2019s safety in the UK\u2019s streets, we must also think about other spaces where women feel scared.\u00a0 TUC research reports that more than half of women overall, and nearly two-thirds of women aged 18-24 years old, have experienced sexual harassment at work, too.<\/p>\n Evidence of this problem has been building for years, with #MeToo\u00a0<\/a>helping to uncover the extent and impact of the abuse experienced by many. We are hearing too many accounts of women who have felt unsafe in their workplace simply by virtue of being a woman. This poses the question \u2013 why are so many employers failing to provide safe workplaces for women?<\/p>\n Within UK legislation sexual\u00a0harassment\u00a0is\u00a0recognised as a form of sex discrimination\u00a0with The Equality Act<\/a> defining harassment as \u2018unwanted conduct related to a relevant protected characteristic, which has the purpose or effect of violating an individual\u2019s dignity or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for that individual\u2019. Yet regulation alone has proved insufficient in eradicating discriminatory attitudes and behaviour towards women in the workplace. So, what can employers do to make the change?<\/p>\n Employers need to increase their efforts to create physically and emotionally safe workplaces. Organisational cultures must be inclusive and supportive\u00a0to ensure all staff\u00a0are\u00a0treated\u00a0with dignity and respect at work.\u00a0 Robust frameworks\u00a0to counter any potential harassment or discrimination against women\u00a0with\u00a0policies\u00a0that\u00a0cover every aspect of employment\u00a0need to be in place.\u00a0Any\u00a0form of alleged harassment\u00a0must\u00a0be treated\u00a0seriously\u00a0with organisations\u00a0demonstrating\u00a0zero-tolerance to such behaviours.\u00a0Senior leaders and line managers need to consistently role model and champion these behaviours.<\/p>\n Everyone has the right to feel safe\u00a0in their lives\u00a0and employers have a big role to play in\u00a0tackling\u00a0the systemic discrimination that is\u00a0making too many women feel unsafe in their everyday lives.<\/p>\n Dr Samantha Evans i<\/a>s a lecturer in\u00a0Human Resource Management<\/a>\u00a0at Kent Business School. She is also the Athena Swan lead for KBS, an organisation which serves as body of recognition for the advancement of gender equality in higher education, encompassing representation, progression and success for all. She led the School\u2019s successful application for a\u00a0Bronze Athena Swan award in 2020.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"‘Regulation alone has proved insufficient’<\/strong><\/h3>\n