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Harassment Policy including sexual harassment
Discrimination, sexual harassment and harassment are defined in SG's bulletin ST/SGB/2008/5
Discrimination is any unfair treatment or arbitrary distinction based on a person’s race, sex, religion, nationality, ethnic origin, sexual orientation, disability, age, language, social origin or other status. Discrimination may be an isolated event affecting one person or a group of persons similarly situated, or may manifest itself through harassment or abuse of authority.
Harassment is any improper and unwelcome conduct that might reasonably be expected or be perceived to cause offence or humiliation to another person. Harassment may take the form of words, gestures or actions which tend to annoy, alarm, abuse, demean, intimidate, belittle, humiliate or embarrass another or which create an intimidating, hostile or offensive work environment. Harassment normally implies a series of incidents. Disagreement on work performance or on other work-related issues is normally not considered harassment and is not dealt with under the provisions of this policy but in the context of performance management.
Sexual harassment is any unwelcome sexual advance, request for sexual favour, verbal or physical conduct or gesture of a sexual nature, or any other behaviour of a sexual nature that might reasonably be expected or be perceived to cause offence or humiliation to another, when such conduct interferes with work, is made a condition of employment or creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive work environment. While typically involving a pattern of behaviour, it can take the form of a single incident. Sexual harassment may occur between persons of the opposite or same sex. Both males and females can be either the victims or the offenders.
For further information please see ST/SGB/2008/5 and ST/SGB/2005/20.
Secretary General Bulletins / SGB
- Prohibition of discrimination, harassment including sexual harassment, and abuse of authority, ST/SGB/2008/5
- Prevention of workplace harassment, sexual harassment and abuse of authority, ST/SGB/2005/20
- Special measures for protection from sexual exploitation and sexual abuse, ST/SGB/2003/13
Guidelines
Conflict resolution in the United Nations Secretariat, ST/IC/2004/4
UN System Policies (to be updated)
International Agencies Policies
- IMF, EEOC. Facts About Sexual Harassment. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission 1997
- IMF Policy on Sexual Harassment
- IMF, What is Sexual Harassments. EEOC
- IAEA, sec-note informal grievance procedure-nominations
- IAEA, harassment policy document
- ILO. Collective Agreement
- European Commission, Directorate-General for Employment, Industrial Relations, and Social Affairs Unit V/D.5, 1998. 243pp.
- The World Bank. Eradicating Harassment in the WB Group
- The World Bank Group Policy on Eradicating Harassment. Guidelines for Implementation
- The World Bank Policy on the Prevention of Harassment