By Taylor MacPherson

Women’s advocates want simpler process for harassment complaints

Dec 8, 2017 | 11:00 AM

The recent high-profile cases of celebrity sexual harassment could empower more victims to come forward, but two local advocates said governments could be doing more to make the process easier for victims.

Chrissy Halliday, who sits on the executive of the Prince Albert Council of Women, said she appreciated the amount of public and media attention given to the stories of celebrity sexual harassment. The attention around the high-profile allegations are likely to have a positive impact, Halliday said, as she expects more victims will now have the confidence needed to speak out.

“You can see a really big shift in the social atmosphere,” Halliday told paNOW. “Now women are coming forward, and people are actually supporting them.”

Halliday said some sexual harassment victims remain silent due to fear or embarrassment, but in her experience the victims most often struggle when trying to navigate the various government agencies involved in the complaints process. There is no single government body that handles sexual harassment complaints, she said, which can leave victims confused or frustrated and makes it difficult to track statistics accurately.

“There are all these different bodies that you have to bring it to, and if you bring it to one then they say you have to go report it to the other,” Halliday said.  “It ends up almost being a circus act.”

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The province should set up a single body, Halliday said, which could help walk victims through the process from start to finish, in order to streamline the process and help ensure the government is aware of the scope of the issue.

“I’m not even talking about starting a new division of government,” she said. “Just two or three people within the province that you could go to.”

Shirley Henderson, chair of the Prince Albert Grand Council’s Women’s Commission, told paNOW she expects to see many more sexual harassment complaints emerging in the wake of the various celebrity scandals.

“It seems to be opening up again,” Henderson said. “One person comes forward and it leads to other people coming forward.”

Like Halliday, Henderson also said she would like to see a single government body established in order to help make the process faster and easier for complainants.

“I hope something good comes out of all of this, that we do get someone to assist and help the ladies that have been sexually harassed,” she said.

Several different authorities handle sexual harassment complaints in different capacities, including Saskatchewan’s Occupational Health and Safety Division, law enforcement, the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission and the Canadian Human Rights Commission. Many assume sexual harassment is dealt with primarily through the criminal justice system, but Prince Albert Police Chief Troy Cooper said sexual harassment is not always a criminal offence.

“Sexual harassment, particularly what you’ll see in the news, is more of a human rights issue or maybe an employee/employer relationship issue, but not necessarily criminal,” Cooper said.

“Anything that really violates the sexual integrity of the victim is criminal, and that’s something where we’d be involved,” the police chief added.

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Labour Relations and Workplace Safety said they aren’t currently considering a central liaison unit, but are always willing to consider options to better address the issue.

“It is important to note that various agencies deal with sexual harassment because the unfortunate reality is that it can occur anywhere and at any time,” the spokesperson said in an emailed statement.

“The Ministry of Labour Relations and Workplace Safety is able to deal with behaviour that occurs in the workplace while the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission handles behaviour that occurs in the wider community.”

The ministry always welcomes input from those on the front lines, the spokesperson said.

Taylor.macpherson@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @TMacPhersonNews