Sexual harassment training is the practice of intentionally educating people on appropriate sexual behavior. As it concerns the workplace, this training will educate employers and employees on what is considered appropriate and inappropriate behavior as regards boundaries in the workplace.

Beyond the recognition of what is and is not the right way to behave, sexual harassment training helps equip folks with the right tool to correct wrong behavior in the workplace.  The knowledge they say is power so engagement in education is key to helping enforce and uphold best practices in the workplace.

In this article, we will examine the benefits of this training to an organization and what can make it ineffective, so stay with us.

Pros of Sexual Harassment Training

As we have mentioned in the intro of this article albeit briefly, there are numerous benefits to be gained from conducting regular/periodic training for staff on the issue of sexual harassment. The following are some points of advantage to consider:-

Imparts Greater Knowledge and Awareness About Sexual Harassment

This training helps to educate people and create greater awareness of what can be considered harassment in the workplace. Most times some employees may claim ignorance (whether genuine or false) as to what constitutes sexual harassment.  This is often the case in an organization that is made up of people from diverse cultures and ethnicity.

Without these educational engagements, some victims may not even realize that they were or are being harassed. But once people in the same space receive the same information and education, no one can hide under the guise of ignorance.

Everyone becomes culpable for their misdeeds and can be held accountable. That is actually the first hurdle to cross when seeking to get people to change their behavior. Click here for more tips on how to change employee behavior.

Results in Increase in Formal Reporting

Research shows that most people that have been or are being harassed sexually hardly speak up. This can be a result of fear of backlash in different forms. But when a company organizes these interactive and educative sessions, people are emboldened to speak out. Most even go as far as documenting formal reports.

It is safer for a company or organization to have a slew of formal reports in-house that be faced with litigations. And people who are not courageous enough to file suits, may hide behind a keypad and damage the reputation of the company. So training sessions may bring up the dirty linens in-house and they can be managed with minimal damage to the organization.

Reduces Victim Shaming and Blaming

Some people erroneously blame the victims of sexual intimidation and harassment. While some of these folks are malicious, others genuinely believe that the victim that is being harassed brought it upon him /herself.

However, adequate enlightenment sessions reveal how these issues play out. When people are truly educated on the subject and then hear the experience of a victim, they can totally relate.

Can Help To Mobilize Bystanders

With adequate training, employees learn to move from bystanders to upstanders. They learn to stand up for the harassed. It has been proven through research that a person may be so brow beaten by harassment or the perpetrator that they refuse to speak up. But an observer who may have otherwise chosen to be just a bystander, with adequate training can become an upstander.

Any organization that has a strong upstander culture will record fewer incidents of sexual harassment. This is because would-be perpetrators know that no one will cover up for them. In addition to that, employees know that there would be no backlash when a verified report is made. Check out this site for more on the upstander culture: https://sites.google.com/lbl.gov/

Consider Going Through Our Exclusive Guide On Finding The Best Sexual Harassment Lawyer

What Makes Sexual Harassment Training Ineffective?

One may wonder what could possibly be the disadvantage of this training. Below we discuss 2 of the issues that make this training rather ineffective.

It Ignores the Dynamics of Power and Discrimination

Most organizations just conduct this training so as not to run afoul of HR laws of compliance. However, they do not put into consideration the dynamics of power and gender discrimination in the organization. Most training may address same level harassment but what happens if it is the ‘big’ boss that’s doing the harassment? Who will enforce the rules?

What happens in an organization that is gender skewed? Where there is a higher population of one gender over the other? The play of power dynamics and all forms of discrimination must be factored in for sexual harassment training to be effective

Fear of Backlash

In this day and age of the #MeToo movement, the awareness of sexual harassment is over-heightened. The fear of backlash from accusations of being a perpetrator has impeded growth and productivity in some organizations. Many older men who should have mentored younger women or even men now shy away from close proximity with them due to what they have seen some prominent people suffer.

So for an organization to really enjoy the benefit of sexual harassment training, they must create a healthy balance. Everyone must feel safe and protected, only then can the full benefit be enjoyed.

Conclusion

There is so much to be said on this subject but we believe that we have provided the basics in this article. Bear them in mind as you navigate the waters of making your organization a healthy working environment for all.

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