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Harassment Prevention
Information
for Faculty
Principles
for Handling Harassment
Dealing with harassment situations can be tricky. Fortunately, most faculty members and administrators don’t have to face these types of situations very often, and help is available.
We've provided some brief information
below that we hope will be helpful to you in approaching issues
of harassment at Duke. Please give us a call any time you
have any questions.
Duke University Office for
Institutional Equity, 684-8222
| A. |
Duke's
harassment policy
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| 1. |
For
the text of the harassment policy, please see: Overview brochure
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| 2. |
Scope:
Duke policies prohibit not only sexual harassment, but
harassment or discrimination based on age, color, disability,
gender, national origin, race, religion, sexual orientation
or veteran status. In addition, it is important to address
any type of abuse or harassing behavior.
These policies cover
all Duke entities, including the University campus and
the Medical School, Hospital and Health
System.
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| 3. |
Definitions:
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| a. |
Hostile
environment (most common): Creation of a hostile or
intimidating environment in which verbal or
physical conduct is so
severe or so persistent that it interferes significantly
with work, education, or campus living
conditions.
-Need not be sexual;
-Respondent may be a peer
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| b. |
Sexual coercion
or "quid pro quo sexual harassment" (Rarely
occurs): Unwelcome conduct of a
sexual
nature when
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| 1. |
Submission to conduct is made term or condition of an individual’s employment or education; or
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| 2. |
Submission to or rejection
of such conduct is used as a basis for employment or
educational decisions
-Always sexual
-Always a power differential
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| B. |
What a complainant
should do;
1. If possible, speak
to the respondent privately
and quietly.
2. Get help when necessary.
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But a complainant might not address the
problem or get help in doing so. Why not?
______________________
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See
Table: "Fears & Other Common Factors"
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| C. |
What a faculty member/administrator
should do upon becoming
aware of a harassment issue:
| 1. |
Contact
OIE immediately with harassment and discrimination
concerns.
If you become
aware of a possible harassment matter, inform
the Office for Institutional Equity at (919) 684-8222
as soon as possible. There are three main reasons
for this:
Consistent case handling: To help ensure
consistent handling of harassment matters throughout
the institution, OIE should be consulted in such
situations;
Proper investigation: OIE will provide
investigation services in those rare situations
where there is a question of fact. For example,
if the parties disagree about what actually happened
in a case, OIE will conduct the interviews necessary
to determine, if possible, which party’s version
is supported by the evidence.
Data collection: since OIE is responsible
for reporting statistics about the frequency of
harassment incidents at Duke, the office needs
to be provided with information about departmental
experience that is as accurate as possible.
If you do not know whether a situation is
the type of which OIE needs to be informed, err
on the side of safety and give us a call.
Communication
methods
If at all possible,
use the phone or meet face-to-face, either with
OIE staff or with the parties.
Avoid email: be careful of using email to discuss confidential and/or sensitive
matters.
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| 2. |
Doing
nothing is always the wrong thing, and time is
of the essence.
All harassment concerns must be addressed
promptly, without waiting for a formal or written
complaint. This does not mean handling all incidents
at the same level, or overreacting to minor problems,
but dealing with problems effectively and appropriately.
In addition, it is important for the respondent
to know as soon as possible that there is a complaint
about him or her. Contact Human Resources or Institutional
Equity regarding what to do next.
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| 3. |
Treat all complaints seriously, no matter how improbable or trivial an allegation may seem to be, or what motivation may have seem to have prompted the claim. It is a major error to assume that a complaint has no merit or is unimportant, and fail to do anything about it. OIE and human resources are available to help determine what response is necessary for a given situation and what disposition is consistent with institutional practice. When someone reveals a concern, do not judge the person’s credibility or question the appropriateness of his or her actions. While it is important to have enough information to understand the situation, this is not the time to conjecture about whether the person is telling the truth, or whether he or she might have prevented the behavior complained of. In addition, avoid offering an opinion about whether the policy has been violated, even if it seems obvious that the behavior is or is not harassment.
Example: “Barbara,” who has a reputation as a problem employee, complains to Carla, a faculty member, that “Alex” has been making remarks that are offensive to her. Carla must see to it that Alex is informed that this behavior is causing a problem for someone, if not by the complainant, then by a manager or Carla herself. It would be inappropriate for the Carla to decide that her complaint is trivial and not worth dignifying with a response.
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| 4. |
Respect privacy but
do not promise confidentiality.
While it is important
to respect the privacy of the individuals involved,
it may not be possible to keep certain information
confidential if a situation is serious enough
to warrant further action. As an agent of Duke,
once a faculty member or administrator becomes
aware of a situation, the institution is legally
considered to be aware of it as well. You should
explain to the parties that information will not
be shared except with those who need to know about
it, and that only as much information as is necessary
will be revealed.
It may be possible to withhold the name of the
complainant from the respondent. However, if it
is determined that the respondent must be told
of the complaint, he or she must be given enough
information to be able to understand what conduct
is being complained of, and in order to have sufficient
notice of what behavior is not to be repeated.
While the respondent may be able to guess who
has complained, it is actually worse for that
respondent to have too little information.
Be sure to caution all parties about respecting the others’ privacy. Often, parties to a complaint talk to many other people about the situation, which can cause great harm to the other party and make the situation worse for all involved. Be sure to remind the parties not to discuss the matter except with those who “need to know”, e.g., you, a dean, a director, human resources or Institutional Equity.
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| 5. |
The complainant’s wishes do not control how a case is handled. While it is important to be aware of what the complainant wants to happen, and his or her wishes are always taken into account, those wishes are not ultimately dispositive of how the case will be handled. He or she may want the institution to do more—or less—than what is ultimately determined to be appropriate for the circumstances. If a matter is serious enough, the institution is compelled to address it even if the complainant directs it not do so. For example, a complainant may ask that “nothing be done,” but if doing so allows harassment to continue, or if the behavior is egregious, we cannot accommodate that request. On the other hand, a complainant will sometimes demand that the respondent be fired or severely disciplined for conduct that the institution does not believe merits that level of corrective action; the department’s judgment is what determines the outcome, even if the complainant is not happy with the result.
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| 6. |
Actively
protect the safety and well-being of both parties.
As a rule, both parties experience great
distress in harassment matters, and
it is advisable to routinely provide both parties
with information about Personal Assistance Service.
If the situation might involve a criminal matter
such as an assault or a hate crime, be sure to
advise either party that he or she has a right
to contact Duke or Durham police.
Besides
providing information about counseling, consult
with Human Resources or Staff & Labor Relations
about the possibility of using measures such as
administrative leave for either or both parties
if doing so might be indicated. In addition, speak
to Duke Police if an individual’s safety may be
in question.
Give both parties information
about available resources, including a copy of
the Harassment Policy Overview Brochure. This
publication, which has a list of some of the resources
that Duke provides, can be obtained from OIE or
on the web at http://dukeoie.org/har_har_pol_overview.htm
Carefully document all actions and communications.
Keep detailed documentation,
taking careful notes about communications and
other events.
Guard
against retaliation.
Assure the complainant that retaliation is prohibited
under the policy and warn the respondent of this
same principle. Ascertain whether the complainant
has any concerns that there will be negative consequences
for airing the complaint, and ask him or her to
inform you if retaliation occurs. Our experience
has been, however, that respondents are unlikely
to retaliate against a complainant because of
a harassment complaint.
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| Six Essentials
for Cultivating a Respectful Teaching and Working
Environment (i.e.,
minimizing the creation of perceptions of harassment):
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Respect:
Treat staff, colleagues and learners with
respect and dignity, especially during criticism.
Avoid embarrassing people.
**Most harassment
complaints arise from people feeling disrespected
or humiliated.**
Responsibility: Insist that people for whom you are responsible treat others with
respect.
Vigilance: Deal with problems promptly, at a low level, while they are
still small; don't wait for them to become "real"
harassment.
Assistance: Obtain human resources help promptly with staff performance problems.
Maintaining
boundaries: Avoid discussing
personal issues with staff or those whom you
teach—either theirs or your own. Instead, use
the opportunity to make good use of Duke's counseling
programs:
| a. |
For staff or house staff Duke's
employee assistance program, Personal
Assistance Services, (P.A.S.) is an
excellent resource. We highly recommend
their brochure for supervisors (http://www.hr.duke.edu/eohs/pas)
for guidance on how to use P.A.S.effectively
for those whom you work with; |
| b. |
The student counterpart to PAS is Counseling and Psychological Services (C.A.P.S). http://caps.stuaff.duke.edu/generalinfo.html. |
Professionalism: Set and model professional standards of behavior—including at off-campus departmental events and at conferences.
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OIE Program Services
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| 1. |
Training & education
Education is at the heart of an effective harassment
prevention program. We encourage you to have us speak
in your area before any problems occur. At the very
least, each person in your department or unit should
be given a copy of the Harassment Policy Overview.
Our staff can provide education
on the harassment policy in a way that is appropriate
for your staff or employee population. We are familiar
with almost every work and learning environment of
the academic areas as well as the hospital, service
and research settings. Our presentations
are designed to be practical, helpful, candid, and
interactive. We have created different formats and
materials for differing populations such as faculty
members, hospital employees, managers, service employees,
physicians, students, or administrators—for highly
educated audiences as well as those with limited reading
skills—and we will work with you to plan education
that is right for the needs of your area.
Our goal is to furnish regular
education on the harassment policy to all segments
of the Duke community and Health System. If we have
not yet provided education to your area and you would
like to arrange for one or more presentations, please
contact our Program Coordinator, Jean Toomer, at (919)
681-6435 (jean.toomer@duke.edu)
and we will schedule a presentation for your area.
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| 2. |
Consultation services
We love to hear from you. No question is too small! Please give us a call at (919) 684-8222 if you have any questions whatsoever about a possible harassment or discrimination issue, and we will help you. Our offices are open from 8:30am–5:00pm, but we can be flexible to suit your needs as the situation requires. |
| 3. |
Employee resources
We are happy to meet with any of your employees
who has questions about harassment, discrimination or
similar issues. Respondents as well as complainants
have often found it helpful to speak with us, and we
will strictly respect an individual’s privacy to the
extent that we are able to do so.
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Resources:
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