SEXUAL HARASSMENT POLICY
The Total Martial Arts Centre (TMAC) recognises the right of all students and staff to work and/or study in an environment free from sexual and gender-based harassment. Sexual harassment and discrimination on the basis of sex are unlawful and unacceptable within the organisation.
Background
TMAC has adopted a policy on equal opportunity to reflect its commitment to equal opportunity and freedom from all forms of discrimination in education and employment, as determined by legislation or by Council.
TMAC acknowledges its responsibility to ensure that staff, students and members of the TMAC are made aware of what constitutes unacceptable behaviour.
TMAC recognises its responsibility to take prompt and effective action to deal with complaints of sexual and gender-based harassment and to ensure that all people involved in the complaint, including the complainant, the person complained about and witnesses are treated fairly. TMAC will do everything in its power to ensure that people are not victimised in any way. It also recognises the responsibility of managers to take a proactive role in dealing with any manifestations of sexual and gender-based harassment in accordance with this policy.
What is Harassment?
Harassment is a form of discrimination. It is offensive social behaviour.
TMAC recognises that behaviour that is regarded as harmless, trivial or a joke may constitute sexual or gender-based harassment, where such behaviour is personally offensive, humiliating or distressing to the recipient.
Sexual Harassment
Sexual harassment is any form of offensive sexual attention that is uninvited and un-welcomed. It can be a single incident or a persistent pattern of un-welcomed behaviour and it should be noted that the distress can be the same whether the conduct is intentional or unintentional.
Sexual harassment can range from subtle behaviour to explicit demands for sexual activity or even criminal assault and includes:
- inappropriate remarks with sexual connotations
- sexual jokes
- the display of offensive material
- staring, leering, offensive gestures
- inappropriate posturing
- comments and questions about another person’s sexual conduct and/or private relationships
- persistent unwelcome invitations
- request for sexual favours
- offensive written, telephone or electronic mail or other computer system communications
- unnecessary close physical proximity including persistently following a person
- unwelcome physical conduct such as brushing against or touching a person
- actual molestation
- sexual assault.
Gender-Based Harassment
Gender-based harassment is any conduct that is unwelcome because it denigrates a person on the basis of their gender. It can be a single incident or a persistent pattern of unwanted behaviour and constitutes unlawful discrimination if it can be shown that the person being harassed is being treated unfavourably on the basis of their gender.
The term covers a range of behaviour which in its context amounts to harassment, including:
- denigrating comments regarding a person’s gender
- display of written or pictorial material that denigrates a person’s gender
- negative behaviours, e.g.. bullying, intimidating or excluding related to the gender of the person
- expressing stereotyping, that is assumptions based on gender about the persons gender, group behaviour, values, culture or ability.
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