Dr Stephen Burrell, 16/08/2024
This article discusses themes of violence and sexual harassment in the work place.
In the UK in recent years, after one horrific femicide after another, there have been increasingly widespread conversations about the need to prevent violence against women and girls from happening in the first place. The new Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, has spoken of his goal to halve it in a decade. When it comes to prevention, the focus understandably tends to be on schools and young people. Yet young people possess relatively little social power, and for things to change among them, society around them must change, too. We therefore need to see prevention efforts scaled up at every level and in every corner of society. The workplace is a particularly important setting in this regard, and has the potential to play a significant role in instigating change.
There is thus an onus on employers to embrace violence prevention efforts. This is not least because violence against women affects the workplace directly; such as sexual harassment by colleagues or customers stopping women from being able to do their jobs, and domestic abuse significantly reducing victim-survivors’ ability to achieve their potential at work. I have conducted twenty interviews with educators and advocates spearheading preventative efforts in England, specifically within the business sector, to learn more about the key issues facing the development of this work. The research participants emphasised that preventing violence against women has positive effects on businesses themselves, by helping to create a culture in which everyone can thrive. The same masculinised dynamics which can enable sexist and misogynistic behaviour to proliferate also foster unsupportive, exclusionary environments in which hierarchies, callousness, and bullying are rife.
So what can businesses do to prevent violence against women? Firstly, my interviewees underscored that supporting victim-survivors and taking cases within their own organisation seriously sends powerful messages about what behaviours are (not) tolerated. More broadly, prevention is built upon dismantling patriarchy across the workplace, so that women are treated as equal members of the organisation. Engaging with men is crucial to this. Participants discussed how, too often, the onus is placed on women, as if simply by being more confident and assertive, gendered inequities will fade away. It was highlighted that men continue to hold most positions of power in businesses, and can therefore be key instigators of (or obstacles to) change. Men also have unique opportunities to influence other men, and to bring into question oppressive behaviours in the workplace. In turn, they have much to gain from being involved in creating more equitable organisations, in which the wellbeing of all staff is taken seriously, and work/life balance and caregiving are prioritised. Indeed, the workplace represents a crucial space to engage with men ‘where they are’, and make the connections between how different aspects of gender equality connect to their own lives.
We have seen some businesses get involved in external campaigns to prevent violence against women, such as through advertising. These can send powerful messages, and businesses have significant reach in the community. Gillette’s ‘The Best Men Can Be’ advert in the wake of the #MeToo movement is one example. However, several participants felt that even more important is the business’s own conduct and culture – with the risk of being seen as inauthentic if they cannot ‘walk the talk’. Ongoing education, training, and dialogue with staff across the organisation (especially men) which seeks to transform gender norms is therefore vital. Recruiting individual men to lead the way in speaking out about violence against women can support this, as can initiating allyship groups and networks, so that those men who already recognise gender equality as being their business can positively influence others.
There are also a number of challenges facing violence prevention in the workplace. Participants felt businesses often don’t treat social issues like men’s violence against women with the priority it warrants, especially in the face of the profit motive, and consider it ‘somebody else’s’ problem. They may be reluctant to get involved in work seen as politically ‘contentious’, and may thus opt for watered down, unthreatening initiatives. There is thus a risk that even when businesses do support efforts to prevent violence and engage men, they do so in ways which are tokenistic or superficial, or motivated by reputation-sanitising. Interviewees therefore underlined the need for this work to be deep-rooted and multifaceted – across the whole organisation – whilst recognising this to be a gradual process for businesses to come on board with.
We should also be wary of the potential for masculinised corporate cultures to ‘rub off’ on violence prevention work, for example by encouraging competition among under-resourced NGOs, or individualising what is a structural problem. Some participants debated the ethics of working with businesses altogether, especially those actively engaged in practices contributing towards violence, such as the destruction of the environment or the selling of alcohol. Of course, these organisations may also be where culture-change is most needed – but practitioners must balance this with the risk of giving them legitimacy. This demonstrates the need for change to come from outside as well as within businesses, such as through government regulation.
Finally, participants stressed the challenges of recruiting men to the cause. Many men have been taught little about how gender inequality and violence against women relate to their lives. Some may express defensiveness in response to the discomfort felt when they encounter these issues. However, participants felt it important not to be put off by backlash, which is likely to represent only a small (if vocal) minority of men. There are many more who remain unsure of what to think, who have much to gain from learning about the harmful impacts of masculine norms, and from the creation of more caring workplaces. It is therefore vital that businesses do not shy away from the responsibility that we all have to contribute to the prevention of violence against women.
As with work with men itself however, given the tensions of involving businesses, it must be undertaken with sensitivity and critical self-reflection, if we are serious about getting to the roots of the problem and not just ‘looking good’. Ending men’s violence against women forces us to ask difficult questions about ways in which we might be part of the problem – but these are questions which we all win from finding answers to.
Dr Stephen Burrell, is a Leverhulme Early Career Fellow researching the connections between the climate crisis, masculinity, and violence. As Deputy Director of CRiVA, he co-hosts the podcast “Now and Men.” His work focuses on engaging men in gender equality, preventing violence, and exploring men’s responses to feminism. Follow him on Twitter: @the_daily_panda.
If you have been affected by topics discussed in this article there are support networks available. Here are a few places that may be able to offer you advice and support.
Victim support: Victimsupport.org
Support for workplace harassment and abuse: ACAS Sexual harassment specialist team
Mental Health support: Mind.org