Respect at work should be a practice, not a policy.

Why It Matters for Culture and Equity

When people don’t feel safe at work, they can’t show up fully. Harassment in any form undermines trust, performance, wellbeing and retention. It tells some people they don’t belong, that speaking up is too risky and that their safety isn’t important.

And it doesn’t affect everyone equally. Harassment disproportionately impacts women, especially women of colour, LGBTQ+ people, and those in casual, insecure or junior roles. Harassment prevention isn’t just about individual behaviour it’s a structural gender equity issue.

When it’s not addressed, it reinforces inequality. When it is addressed, it opens the door to genuine inclusion.

What drives harassment?

Harassment often happens in environments where:

• Power is concentrated or unchecked. Think, that employee who gets results and therefore their toxic behaviour is tolerated.

• Speaking up is unsafe or punished. Ever been part of a culture where you are judged for your mistakes rather than supported?

• Bad behaviour is minimised or explained away. Normalising those “jokes” that are completely inappropriate but anyone who objects is told to relax.

• Respect is talked about but not modelled. You know, where appropriate behaviour is a compliance matter and keeps you out of court, but there is no active encouragement of empathy, listening, or humility.

It’s not always about one person doing the wrong thing. It’s about systems that allow that thing to keep happening.

A 2022 survey from WorkSafe revealed that reporting of workplace sexual harassment remains alarmingly low at only 18%. This makes it hard to see on a dashboard and in your reports. It lives in eye rolls, inappropriate comments that go unchallenged, exclusion from opportunities, or the silence after someone reports something serious.

Prevention is cultural, not just procedural

If prevention only lives in a policy or annual training module, it’s not enough. Real prevention is about designing safer systems, clearer expectations, and stronger accountability.

Here’s what meaningful prevention looks like in practice:

1. Start with safety. It takes courage to speak up. When someone discloses sexual harassment or assault the response can either support recovery or deepen harm. You don’t need to have all the answers. You just need to be present, respectful and non-judgemental. Practically this means clear, safe reporting pathways, training people on how to respond, listen and act on what they hear.

2. Build respect into everyday behaviours. Culture isn’t shaped by posters on the wall. It shows up in meetings, feedback sessions, jokes in the kitchen, and how people treat each other under pressure.

3. Train leaders to lead culture, not just performance. Managers set the tone. Equip them to recognise and respond to problematic behaviours, challenge bias, and foster inclusion.

4. Address the challenging. Many incidents fall into a blurry space: not illegal, but not okay. If the standard is “no one’s filed a complaint,” you’ve set the bar too low. Use values and lived experience, not just fear of legal ramifications, to shape your culture.

5. Actions speak louder than policy. Reciting policy or telling people you care about respect isn’t enough. If senior leaders dismiss concerns or protect high performers at the expense of safety, trust is eroded.

6. Connect it to your equity goals You can’t advance gender equity if harassment being enabled or quietly tolerated. Prevention isn’t separate from your DEI work. It’s core to it.
   

Creating a safe and fair culture

Preventing harassment isn’t just about avoiding risk. It’s about making work better for everyone. It’s a sign of a high-trust, high-integrity workplace where people feel valued and protected.

At Culture Edge, we help organisations move beyond policy to practice. We work with leaders to embed safety, equity and accountability into how work gets done, so respect becomes the norm, not the exception.

Want to talk about how to build a prevention-first culture?

Let’s chat.