Violence against women has been around for a long time and unfortunately the issue continues to persist, both in our society and in the workplace.
Belgium has since improved its anti-discrimination legislation. The fight against discrimination has been made more effective by introducing stricter compensation and recognising different and new forms of discrimination. The modernisation of terminology and the clarification of interest groups enable us to take better legal action. Furthermore, there are changes in the protection against retaliation by the employer in the area of violence or harassment related to a ground of discrimination or unwanted sexual behaviour. Belgium has also signed ILO Convention No. 190 on the “Elimination of Violence and Harassment in the World of Work”, which recognises the right of everyone to a world free from violence and harassment, including gender-based violence and harassment.
Belgium wants to ensure more equal opportunities for all citizens through these initiatives. But we continue to notice that someone who is the victim of intimidation on the grounds of his or her origin, gender, sexual orientation or another protected criterion, often also risks experiencing problems at work.
The ACLVB also wants to say stop to sexist and sexual violence today and every other day of the year. In the week of November 25, we will bring this to extra attention.
Many women continue to be confronted with sexist and transgressive behavior at work. This behavior can take various forms: inappropriate jokes about 'a promotion at work' or your clothing or appearance, ambiguous questions about your private life, ... Behavior that is laughed off because 'it's just a joke', ... Yet it is only a small step from inappropriate comments to actions: sexually suggestive text messages, e-mails and photos, unwanted touching, looks and words are all behaviors that can lead to physical and sexual violence. This must stop, even though the reporting threshold is often high!
What should I do if I am a victim?
Respond! Don't accept it and set clear boundaries. Try to find allies against sexism and definitely ask for help.
Sexual harassment and gender-based harassment are defined in the law as “any unwanted verbal, non-verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature that has the purpose or effect of violating the dignity of a person or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment”.
If you are a victim of psychological and/or sexual harassment at work, the internal procedure provides two options: submit a request for psychosocial intervention, either informally or formally.
The informal psychosocial intervention
The intention in this way is to informally seek solutions to the problem through discussions and an attempt to reconcile the various persons involved (if they agree). If necessary, an intervention with a hierarchical superior may also be possible. This can be done via the confidential counselor (if present) or the internal or external prevention advisor for psychosocial aspects of your company, whose contact details can be found in the employment regulations. These persons can provide information that is relevant to the mediation and therefore also attempt to mediate between you and the person(s) involved or make other proposals to put an end to the transgressive behavior. They will not report to the employer and are also not tasked with questioning witnesses.
Please note , if you as a victim or witness want to enjoy protection against adverse measures by the employer AND there is a discriminatory nature, then you must report your request. This can be done directly with the employer or via another body, including your trade union. In this way, there is a trail of evidence of your report and the protection starts from that moment on.
The formal psychosocial intervention
As an employee, you can also decide to immediately appeal to the formal intervention without first going through the informal intervention or when the informal intervention does not yield any results. In this case, you should contact the prevention advisor for psychosocial aspects and NOT the confidential counselor (if present).
The prevention advisor psychosocial aspects will, after his investigation, advise the employer to take the appropriate collective and/or individual measures based on an analysis of the specific situation. You are protected against adverse measures by the employer, except when you abuse the procedure.
Who can help me?
Call on your ACLVB representatives! Their role is also to investigate the context in which a case of violence occurs in order to prevent situations that may go beyond the individual framework and to provide solutions. Making an individual problem collective is essential to improve the well-being of everyone in the company and to remind people that it is the employer's responsibility to provide a safe workplace for everyone.
You are not alone! Ask for help from your ACLVB representatives, they are there to listen to you, give you good advice and support you! Violence against women has existed for a long time and the issue unfortunately continues to persist, both in our society and in the workplace.
Belgium has since improved its anti-discrimination legislation. The fight against discrimination has been made more effective by introducing stricter compensation and recognising different and new forms of discrimination. The modernisation of terminology and the clarification of interest groups enable us to take better legal action. Furthermore, there are changes in the protection against retaliation by the employer in the area of violence or harassment related to a ground of discrimination or unwanted sexual behaviour. Belgium has also signed ILO Convention No. 190 on the “Elimination of Violence and Harassment in the World of Work”, which recognises the right of everyone to a world free from violence and harassment, including gender-based violence and harassment.
Belgium wants to ensure more equal opportunities for all citizens through these initiatives. But we continue to notice that someone who is the victim of intimidation on the grounds of his or her origin, gender, sexual orientation or another protected criterion, often also risks experiencing problems at work.
The ACLVB also wants to say stop to sexist and sexual violence today and every other day of the year. In the week of November 25, we will bring this to extra attention.
Many women continue to be confronted with sexist and transgressive behavior at work. This behavior can take various forms: inappropriate jokes about 'a promotion at work' or your clothing or appearance, ambiguous questions about your private life, ... Behavior that is laughed off because 'it's just a joke', ... Yet it is only a small step from inappropriate comments to actions: sexually suggestive text messages, e-mails and photos, unwanted touching, looks and words are all behaviors that can lead to physical and sexual violence. This must stop, even though the reporting threshold is often high!
What should I do if I am a victim?
Respond! Don't accept it and set clear boundaries. Try to find allies against sexism and definitely ask for help.
Sexual harassment and gender-based harassment are defined in the law as “any unwanted verbal, non-verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature that has the purpose or effect of violating the dignity of a person or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment”.
If you are a victim of psychological and/or sexual harassment at work, the internal procedure provides two options: submit a request for psychosocial intervention, either informally or formally.
The informal psychosocial intervention
The intention in this way is to informally seek solutions to the problem through discussions and an attempt to reconcile the various persons involved (if they agree). If necessary, an intervention with a hierarchical superior may also be possible. This can be done via the confidential counselor (if present) or the internal or external prevention advisor for psychosocial aspects of your company, whose contact details can be found in the employment regulations. These persons can provide information that is relevant to the mediation and therefore also attempt to mediate between you and the person(s) involved or make other proposals to put an end to the transgressive behavior. They will not report to the employer and are also not tasked with questioning witnesses.
Please note , if you as a victim or witness want to enjoy protection against adverse measures by the employer AND there is a discriminatory nature, then you must report your request. This can be done directly with the employer or via another body, including your trade union. In this way, there is a trail of evidence of your report and the protection starts from then on.
The formal psychosocial intervention
As an employee, you can also decide to immediately appeal to the formal intervention without first going through the informal intervention or when the informal intervention does not yield any results. In this case, you should contact the prevention advisor for psychosocial aspects and NOT the confidential counselor (if present).
The prevention advisor psychosocial aspects will, after his investigation, advise the employer to take the appropriate collective and/or individual measures based on an analysis of the specific situation. You are protected against adverse measures by the employer, except when you abuse the procedure.
Who can help me?
Call on your ACLVB representatives! Their role is also to investigate the context in which a case of violence occurs in order to prevent situations that may go beyond the individual framework and to provide solutions. Making an individual problem collective is essential to improve the well-being of everyone in the company and to remind people that it is the employer's responsibility to provide a safe workplace for everyone.
You are not alone! Ask for help from your ACLVB delegates, they are there to listen to you, give you good advice and support you!
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