November 7, 2014
Surrey – The allegations against former CBC radio host Jian Ghomeshi have people across the country talking about the very serious issue of sexual harassment in the workplace, and what role employers can take to create a safe environment for their employees.
In the past, Surrey City Hall was criticized for the way it handled harassment. It is well documented that a harassment investigation was shut down in 2005 and a number of women who had the courage to come forward to file complaints were silenced says Dr. Balbir Gurm, Facilitator for the Network to Eliminate Violence in Relationships (NEVR).
In light of this, we are asking each of the Mayoral and City Council candidates in Surrey to state how they will take proactive steps to prevent harassment, and create a safe environment for employees to report abuse.
Statistics show, one in four Canadian women is sexually harassed in the workplace. In more than half of the cases it was perpetrated by a co-worker. In almost 40 per cent of cases, it involved a manager or supervisor.
Despite all the work that has been done to eliminate it, sexual harassment is still a problem in the workplace. Since most victims feel powerless, and therefore are afraid to report sexual harassment, it’s important for each and every complaint to be taken seriously and fully investigated.
Sexual harassment or abuse in relationships of power is not acceptable. This needs to be an election issue and each candidate needs to articulate which policies they will implement to create a healthy workplace free of gender discrimination.
Dr. Balbir Gurm
Facilitator NEVR
