Challenge: Companies and organizations are responsible for the prevention of sexual and gender-based harassment in the workplace. This is covered by the legal framework and public policies. However, in the same labour context, other situations of discrimination related to structural inequalities may take place affecting and influencing on relationships between workers.
Justicia Alimentaria (Food Justice) wants to review and update its harassment protocol. When defining the situations that the new protocol will encompass, the following debate arouses: What situations of harassment should be addressed in the protocol? What types of discrimination should be tackled? What should be the answer in each case? Should it cover workers or also volunteers?
Answer:
The protocol created includes all possible harassment or discrimination situations that may take place in the workplace. These situations are organized in three different typologies:
The response to the different situations of harassment and discrimination does not differ according to the typology. However, the different contexts that can favour these situations are collected and it is crucial to analyse them from an intersectional perspective. This perspective permeates the protocol and is embodied to take into account possible aggravating factors, as well as it is reflected in prevention and repair strategies.
We believe this is an innovative conceptual commitment in organizations’ harassment protocols, because it goes beyond the legal framework and covers other situations of harassment and discrimination that, despite being common, do not yet have this institutional protection.
