Equinet together with the UN Human Rights Regional Office for Europe co-hosted a roundtable on The post-#MeToo era in Europe on 23 October, followed by a conference on 24 October on Two years after #MeToo, what next? Equality bodies combatting sexual harassment @ work .
Roundtable: The post-#MeToo Era in Europe
Over 150 peple participated in our joint roundtable for an engaging discussion on progress since the #MeToo mobilisation in Europe. The input from our invited panelists was very interesting and much appreciated. Thanks to
Jeanne Ponte (#MeTooEP), Dagmar Schumacher (UN Women), Chidi King (International Trade Union Confederation), Joanna Maycock (European Women’s Lobby), Angela Figueruelo (European Ombudsman’s office), Anaida Dibra (Professional Women International) for their fascinating input and to moderator Petr Polák (Public Defender of Rights, Czech Republic) for steering the conversation so deftly. Birgit Van Hout (UN Human Rights Regional Representative for Europe) and Moana Genevey (Equinet) open and closed the panel respectively.
Two years after the international outburst of the #MeToo movement, international legislation against sexual harassment has been strengthened; decision-makers have started to feel concerned; businesses are increasingly adopting zero tolerance policies. But more remains to be done and underreporting remains endemic. There is hope that the new EU Commission will continue to combat stereotypes and help to create safe working environments for all.
Conference: Two years after #MeToo, what next? Equality bodies combatting sexual harassment @ work
While political discussions and general awareness-raising on sexual harassment in the workplace have consistently increased in the past two years, progress needs to be made in preventing and systematically tackling the issue. As a new European strategic document for gender equality is under preparation in the post-#MeToo era, preventing and responding to sexual harassment must be a priority for the new European Commission.
Because they are mandated by EU law to assist victims of sexual harassment in the workplace and to promote gender equality, national equality bodies are highly relevant actors to ensure effective implementation of anti-harassment laws and policies. They do so through direct assistance to victims, but also through collecting data on sexual harassment, conducting research and surveys to help identify gaps, setting-up codes of conduct in the private and public sector, building partnerships with civil society and social partners, issuing recommendations to policy-makers, training and campaigning.
Equality bodies have been further recognized as central national institutions across the EU for assisting victims of discrimination and harassment, through the adoption of an EC Recommendation on standards for equality bodies. Therefore, equality bodies should be considered as essential partners and stakeholders when leading the work to tackle sexual harassment in Europe.
This conference aimed at highlighting the centrality and relevance of equality bodies for effectively designing and implementing anti-harassment laws and policies. Local, national and European policy-makers participated in this event, to unpack the considerable potential held by equality bodies as well as the many challenges they face when tackling sexual harassment in the workplace.
In addition to highlighting the work of equality bodies, we considered it important to bring testimonies to the fore to highlighting the actual problems faced by people in and beyond the workplace. We would very much like to thank Andriani Papadopopoulou and Ioannou Georgia from Greece for explaining how an equality body concretely helps a person facing sexual harassment in the workplace (see presentation). The sexual harassment faced by disabled women in particular was movingly explained by intersectional feminist Zara Todd. And Sarah Hassan gave an overview of what stories of sexual harassment can teach us, presenting in particular Period.‘s guide It’s not that Grey. How to identify the grey area — a practical guide for the twilight zone of sexual harassment
OVERVIEW OF CONFERENCE SESSIONS
Welcome
- Anne Gaspard , Equinet Executive Director
- Birgit Van Hout – UN Human Rights Regional Representative for Europe (OHCHR)
Keynote Speech on the link between gender discrimination and harassment, and the root causes of sexual harassment
- Dubravka Šimonovic – UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women, Its Causes and Consequences
Session 1: Cases of sexual harassment – Stories from equality bodies
Chair: Sabine Wagner-Steinrigl – Ombud for Equal Treatment, Austria
- Sandra Bouchon – Defender of Rights, France
- Laima Vengale-Dits – Office of the Equal Opportunities Ombudsperson, Lithuania (see presentation)
Session 2: Monitoring sexual harassment – Equality bodies collecting data
Chair: Nathalie Schlenzka – Federal Anti-Discrimination Agency, Germany
- Zuzana Pavlickova – Slovak National Center for Human Rights, Slovakia
- Robin Büttner – Federal Anti-Discrimination Agency, Germany (see presentation)
Session 3: Taking action against sexual harassment: Diversity of actions from equality bodies
Chair: Sandra Konstatzky – Ombud for Equal Treatment, Austria
- Despina Mertakka – Commissioner for Administration and the Protection of Human Rights, Cyprus (see presentation)
- Alasdair McDonald – Equality and Human Rights Commission, Great Britain-United Kingdom (see presentation)
- Ana Lite – Institute of Women and for Equal Opportunities, Spain (see presentation)
- Marijke Weewauters – Institute for Equality Between Women and Men,
Belgium (see presentation)
Panel Debate: Tackling sexual harassment – The way forward
- Ingrid Bellander-Todino – European Commission
- Veronica Collins – European Institute for Gender Equality
- Liesbet Stevens – Institute For the Equality of Women and Men, Belgium
- Cécile Gréboval – Council of Europe
- Lieve Verboven – International Labour Organisation
Closing Session
- Tena Šimonović Einwalter – Chair of Equinet Executive Board & Deputy Ombudswoman, Croatia
Poster Exhibition
While political discussions and general awareness-raising on sexual harassment in the workplace has consistently increased in the past two years, progress needs to be made in preventing and systematically tackling the issue. National equality bodies are highly relevant actors to ensure effective implementation of anti-harassment laws and policies. They do so through direct assistance to victims, but also through collecting data on sexual harassment, conducting research and surveys to help identify gaps, setting-up codes of conduct in the private and public sector, building partnerships with civil society and social partners, issuing recommendations to policy-makers, training and campaigning.
While many examples and good practices were discussed during the conference, the array of work done by equality bodies is so vast that it cannot all be shared as part of the conference programme. This is why Equinet organised an exhibition alongside the event. To download the posters and read more about the exhibiton, please see here.
Exhibition Poster 
Media buffer for victims of sexual harassment, Belgium 
Guidelines for Corrective Action, Austria 
Voices of Women in the Care Sector, Belgium 
Code of Conduct on Preventing Sexual Harassment in Public Services, Cyprus 
Creative Use of Video for Training, Czech Republic 
Raising Awareness on Sexual Harassment in the Movie Industry, Germany 
Recommendations for Legislative Reforms, Great Britain 
Strategic Action to Stop Sexual Harassment in Higher Education, Lithuania 
Video Clips on Sexual Harassment, Malta 
Project on Sexual Harassment & Bullying in the Workplace, Portugal 
Tools to Combat Sexual Harassment, Spain
Contact details
For inquiries regarding Equinet’s work on sexual harassment in the workplace, please contact Moana Genevey, Policy Officer by email: moana.genevey@equineteurope.org or telephone: +32 (0) 2 212 3180.