Monday 29 January 2024

A major change: the introduction of a “positive duty” to prevent sexual harassment

In   https://politicalmusingsofkayleen.blogspot.com/2023/12/from-this-weeks-news-on-human-rights_16.html    I included: 

“Australian Human Rights Commission to crack down on employers who fail to actively prevent workplace sexual harassment”   https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/dec/12/australian-human-rights-commission-to-crack-down-on-employers-who-fail-to-actively-prevent-workplace-sexual-harassment   “Reflecting on its need, Cody told Guardian Australia there was a “heavy burden” on individuals to come forward.   ...   Captured under the law are ... sexist attitudes   ...   Employees, unions and other bodies will be able to make complaints to the commission via an online portal.”   See also   https://humanrights.gov.au/about/news/media-releases/positive-duty-employers-commissions-powers-commence   and   https://humanrights.gov.au/our-work/sex-discrimination/projects/positive-duty-under-sex-discrimination-act   Good! The webinar on this was particularly good - and I was pleased to hear good consideration of toxic workplaces, and good discussion on standards of evidence in the webinar  

I have had significant involvement with a number of major changes to workplace laws, including the introduction of major OHS changes in this state in the 1980s, the introduction of equal employment opportunity laws nationally in the 90s, changes to introduce gender identity anti-discrimination measures around the year 2000, and the improved DEI work place culture over the last 15 years or so. 

My involvement has ranged from committees to as a Director on a Board, and my experience tells me that the changes introduced are NOT going to be handled by committee actions. 

They will need top-down direction, and adequate resources to rethink and re-structure training - ESPECIALLY for the major change of mindset required to accept the responsibility (which morally, if not legally, has always existed, IMO) for third parties (sub-contractors/service providers) engaged by companies so they could pretend they had nothing to do with/no responsibility for the conduct of companies that, for instance, managed phone calls/bookings (which is a category I have encountered problems with and refuse to engage with unless they can provide adequate assurances of non-discriminatory [i.e., non-abusive] conduct).

I am currently negotiating on a situation which may constitute a breach of the positive duty to prevent discriminatory (i.e., abusive) conduct, and may be about to lodge a complaint with the Australian Human Rights Commission.  

If I can, I’ll post more about this in due courrse. 

In the meantime, my final thought is how difficult it can be to get the attention of managers for something that may not be on their KPIs (or may not be there in an appropriate fashion * ) - which is a 19th century management attitude not consistent with a post-pandemic 21st century world where inclusivity is mainly the norm and work from home is an accepted and increasing (albeit resisted by 19th century management attitudes) part of working. 

 * Inclusivity/DEI is often included in KPIs by means of measuring numbers of complaints and rewarding low numbers of reports, which is morally questionable and ethically concerning given that it potentially creates pressure to address the measured symptom by suppressing/discouraging reports rather than take the healthier, better, more servant leadership oriented approach of measuring, encouraging, and increasing diversity, equity and inclusion

 

The following links are of relevance:

“The Positive Duty under the Sex Discrimination Act”   https://humanrights.gov.au/our-work/sex-discrimination/projects/positive-duty-under-sex-discrimination-act  

And also:

“New protection against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity and intersex status”   https://humanrights.gov.au/our-work/lgbtiq/projects/new-protection   From 1 August 2013  

“Sexual orientation, gender identity & intersex status discrimination - INFORMATION SHEET”   https://humanrights.gov.au/sites/default/files/Information%20sheet%20on%20new%20protections%20in%20the%20Sex%20Discrimination%20Act%20-%20FINAL.pdf   

From p. 4: “Protections for sexual harassment will continue with one change. The sexual harassment provisions will now include that a person’s ‘sexual orientation, gender identity, intersex status, marital or relationship status’ are now part of the circumstances that can be taken into account when considering whether or not a reasonable person ‘would have anticipated the possibility that the person harassed would be offended, humiliated or intimidated’.”  

“quick guide - Gender Identity”   https://humanrights.gov.au/quick-guide/12039   

 

Assumptions / basis 

In writing this, I have assumed / started from the following: 

  • this blog states quite clearly that it is about political and human rights matters, including lived experience of problems, and thus I will assume readers are reasonable people who have noted the content warning in the post header;

 

If they are of any use of interest, the activism information links from my former news posts are available in this post. 

 

If you appreciated this post, please consider promoting it - there are some links below.

Remember: we need to be more human being rather than human doing, and all misgendering is an act of active transphobia/transmisia that puts trans+ lives at risk & accept that all insistence on the use of “trans” as a descriptor comes with commensurate use of “cis” as a descriptor to prevent “othering”.

Copyright © Kayleen White 2016-2024     NO AI   I do not consent to any machine learning aka Artificial Intelligence (AI), generative AI, large language model, machine learning, chatbot, or other automated analysis, generative process, or replication program to reproduce, mimic, remix, summarise, or otherwise  replicate any part of this post or other posts on this blog via any means. Typo’s may be inserrted deliberately to demonstrate this is not an AI product.     Otherwise, fair and reasonable use is accepted under Creative Commons 4.0 on an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike basis   https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/  

 

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Saturday 27 January 2024

FROM this week’s news ON: society generally, and broader issues [Note: Content Warning - may be links to distressing reports on this topic. Reader discretion is advised]

Note: CONTENT WARNING - some of this content is about upsetting, disturbing or triggering events & attitudes. Seek competent help - including professional - if you need it. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that linked articles may contains names and/or images of deceased people. READER CAUTION IS RECOMMENDED! For anyone distressed by anything in this post, or for any other reason considering seeking support, resources are available in Australia here, here, and here. In other nations, you will have to do an Internet search using terms such as “mental health support - <your nation>” (which, for instance, may lead to this, this, and this, in the USA, or this, this, and this, in France [biased towards English-language - my apologies]), or perhaps try https://www.befrienders.org/. 

Note: in my “from the news” posts, quotes are shown italicised and blue, my comments are in a different shade of blue, and “good” items are shown in green. I have loosely grouped the posts where such seemed reasonable, but that is subjective (i.e., my opinion - others are free to disagree), and challenging, as some posts belong in multiple “groups”.

From this week’s news on society generally, and broader issues (note: I may continue to add links for a few days, possibly up to a week, after these are published):



  • “Existential Lessons of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Depression”   https://aninjusticemag.com/existential-lessons-of-martin-luther-king-jr-s-depression-86991874d328   “Personal Perspective: “Depression doesn’t discriminate” misses the point of Dr. King’s experience   These possibilities ... detract from the political trauma that must have upended Dr. King’s philosophical development, leading to transformations that entailed depression, but weren’t necessarily treatable by clinical means.   We cannot forget that Dr. King spent 15 years witnessing firsthand that there was no “best” way to debunk or disarm white supremacy. A doctorate didn’t help. Devout Christianity didn’t help. Colorblindness didn’t help. Disavowing armed struggle didn’t help. Invoking the innocence of children and the frailty of the elderly didn’t help”   An excellent article   






My links for activism post may aid any activism you may decide to do on any/all of these. If you do, don’t get too fixated on specific instances of problems - important though they may well be: take a moment to also consider the broader issues these incidents and groups of incidents may suggest/reveal.

 

Assumptions / basis 

In writing this, I have assumed / started from the following: 

  • this blog states quite clearly that it is about political and human rights matters, including lived experience of problems, and thus I will assume readers are reasonable people who have noted the content warning in the post header;

Possible flaws 

Where I can, I will try to highlight possible flaws / issues you should consider:

  • there may be flawed logical arguments in the above: to find out more about such flaws and thinking generally, I recommend Brendan  Myers’ free online course “Clear and Present Thinking”; 
  • I could be wrong - so keep your thinking caps on, and make up your own minds for yourself.

 

If they are of any use of interest, the activism information links from my former news posts are available in this post. 

 

If you appreciated this post, please consider promoting it - there are some links below.

Remember: we need to be more human being rather than human doing, and all misgendering is an act of active transphobia/transmisia that puts trans+ lives at risk & accept that all insistence on the use of “trans” as a descriptor comes with commensurate use of “cis” as a descriptor to prevent “othering”.

Copyright © Kayleen White 2016-2024     NO AI   I do not consent to any machine learning aka Artificial Intelligence (AI), generative AI, large language model, machine learning, chatbot, or other automated analysis, generative process, or replication program to reproduce, mimic, remix, summarise, or otherwise  replicate any part of this post or other posts on this blog via any means. Typo’s may be inserrted deliberately to demonstrate this is not an AI product.     Otherwise, fair and reasonable use is accepted under Creative Commons 4.0 on an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike basis   https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/  

 

 

 

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FROM this week’s news ON: the climate crisis, environmental issues, and nuclear threats/issues [Note: Content Warning - links to distressing reports on this topic. Reader discretion is advised]

Note: CONTENT WARNING - some of this content is about upsetting, disturbing or triggering events & attitudes. Seek competent help - including professional - if you need it. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that linked articles may contains names and/or images of deceased people. READER CAUTION IS RECOMMENDED! For anyone distressed by anything in this post, or for any other reason considering seeking support, resources are available in Australia here, here, and here. In other nations, you will have to do an Internet search using terms such as “mental health support - <your nation>” (which, for instance, may lead to this, this, and this, in the USA, or this, this, and this, in France [biased towards English-language - my apologies]), or perhaps try https://www.befrienders.org/. 

Note: in my “from the news” posts, quotes are shown italicised and blue, my comments are in a different shade of blue, and “good” items are shown in green. I have loosely grouped the posts where such seemed reasonable, but that is subjective (i.e., my opinion - others are free to disagree), and challenging, as some posts belong in multiple “groups”.

From this week’s news on the climate crisis, environmental issues, and nuclear threats/issues (note: I may continue to add links for a few days, possibly up to a week, after these are published), noting that at least some issues will not have made it into the news that I see: 


  • “The cutting edge technology of Europe's biggest greenhouse | DW News”   https://youtu.be/8APpeti82hw?si=A-LJsJoeO5TIY_R-   In my opinion (IMO), this is how most of our crops will have to be grown as the climate crisis continues to destroy our world   
  • “CRISPR-edited crops break new ground in Africa”   https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-00176-8   “Scientists in the global south use the popular technique to protect local crops against local threats”   This is good, but I would still like to know long term impacts - such as any risks of monoculture or diseases evolving into something else  





  • “Mesmeric Weapons: South Africa’s Nuclear Program”   https://theaimn.com/mesmeric-weapons-south-africas-nuclear-program/   “The lessons of the South African nuclear weapons program are deep, profound and largely ignored by non-proliferation dogmatists. They show that a regime, even one subject to sanctions and exiled to the diplomatic cold room, can still show aptitude and resourcefulness in creating such murderous weapons.   ...   Where there is a pathological will, there will be a way”   


 

My links for activism post may aid any activism you may decide to do on any/all of these. If you do, don’t get too fixated on specific instances of problems - important though they may well be: take a moment to also consider the broader issues these incidents and groups of incidents may suggest/reveal.

 

Assumptions / basis 

In writing this, I have assumed / started from the following: 

  • this blog states quite clearly that it is about political and human rights matters, including lived experience of problems, and thus I will assume readers are reasonable people who have noted the content warning in the post header;

Possible flaws 

Where I can, I will try to highlight possible flaws / issues you should consider:

  • there may be flawed logical arguments in the above: to find out more about such flaws and thinking generally, I recommend Brendan  Myers’ free online course “Clear and Present Thinking”; 
  • I could be wrong - so keep your thinking caps on, and make up your own minds for yourself.

 

If they are of any use of interest, the activism information links from my former news posts are available in this post. 

 

If you appreciated this post, please consider promoting it - there are some links below.

Remember: we need to be more human being rather than human doing, and all misgendering is an act of active transphobia/transmisia that puts trans+ lives at risk & accept that all insistence on the use of “trans” as a descriptor comes with commensurate use of “cis” as a descriptor to prevent “othering”.

Copyright © Kayleen White 2016-2024     NO AI   I do not consent to any machine learning aka Artificial Intelligence (AI), generative AI, large language model, machine learning, chatbot, or other automated analysis, generative process, or replication program to reproduce, mimic, remix, summarise, or otherwise  replicate any part of this post or other posts on this blog via any means. Typo’s may be inserrted deliberately to demonstrate this is not an AI product.     Otherwise, fair and reasonable use is accepted under Creative Commons 4.0 on an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike basis   https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/  

 

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FROM this week’s news ON: human rights and humanitarian aid [Note: Content Warning - links to distressing reports on this topic. Reader discretion is advised]

Note: CONTENT WARNING - some of this content is about upsetting, disturbing or triggering events & attitudes. Seek competent help - including professional - if you need it. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that linked articles may contains names and/or images of deceased people. READER CAUTION IS RECOMMENDED! For anyone distressed by anything in this post, or for any other reason considering seeking support, resources are available in Australia here, here, and here. In other nations, you will have to do an Internet search using terms such as “mental health support - <your nation>” (which, for instance, may lead to this, this, and this, in the USA, or this, this, and this, in France [biased towards English-language - my apologies]), or perhaps try https://www.befrienders.org/. 

Note: in my “from the news” posts, quotes are shown italicised and blue, my comments are in a different shade of blue, and “good” items are shown in green. I have loosely grouped the posts where such seemed reasonable, but that is subjective (i.e., my opinion - others are free to disagree), and challenging, as some posts belong in multiple “groups”.

From this week’s news on human rights (note: I may continue to add links for a few days, possibly up to a week, after these are published), noting that many issues have probably not made it into the news that I see: 

 



  • From the UK:   “Are gender critical beliefs protected in law? No!”   https://medium.com/@notCursedE/are-gender-critical-beliefs-protected-in-law-no-7166034e3f6f   “Following a recent transphobe employment tribunal it seems once again we have to deal with the myth suggesting gender critical beliefs are protected in law. Often citing Forstater’s case against CGD; every single person saying this is objectively wrong.   ...   “This judgment does not mean that those with gender-critical beliefs can ‘misgender’ trans persons with impunity. The Claimant, like everyone else, will continue to be subject to the prohibitions on discrimination and harassment under the Equality Act””   
  • “Jo Phoenix and women being bullied out of work”   https://medium.com/@notCursedE/jo-phoenix-and-women-being-bullied-out-of-work-a4234d48bb59   “Anti-trans claims of women being bullied out of work have hit social media after Jo Phoenix wins tribunal for unfair dismissal over her “gender critical” ie transphobic views   ...   The real scoop here is that yes, women being bullied out of work is definitely a thing that is happening — but more often than not its actually transgender people — with an emphasis on transgender women in particular — being targeted for this. Alongside our allies, supporters and even family members facing similar challenges and targeted abuse for refusing to spit on us whenever they see us in person”   



 

My links for activism post may aid any activism you may decide to do on any/all of these. If you do, don’t get too fixated on specific instances of problems - important though they may well be: take a moment to also consider the broader issues these incidents and groups of incidents may suggest/reveal.

 

Assumptions / basis 

In writing this, I have assumed / started from the following: 

  • this blog states quite clearly that it is about political and human rights matters, including lived experience of problems, and thus I will assume readers are reasonable people who have noted the content warning in the post header;

Possible flaws 

Where I can, I will try to highlight possible flaws / issues you should consider:

  • there may be flawed logical arguments in the above: to find out more about such flaws and thinking generally, I recommend Brendan  Myers’ free online course “Clear and Present Thinking”; 
  • I could be wrong - so keep your thinking caps on, and make up your own minds for yourself.

 

If they are of any use of interest, the activism information links from my former news posts are available in this post. 

 

If you appreciated this post, please consider promoting it - there are some links below.

Remember: we need to be more human being rather than human doing, and all misgendering is an act of active transphobia/transmisia that puts trans+ lives at risk & accept that all insistence on the use of “trans” as a descriptor comes with commensurate use of “cis” as a descriptor to prevent “othering”.

Copyright © Kayleen White 2016-2024     NO AI   I do not consent to any machine learning aka Artificial Intelligence (AI), generative AI, large language model, machine learning, chatbot, or other automated analysis, generative process, or replication program to reproduce, mimic, remix, summarise, or otherwise  replicate any part of this post or other posts on this blog via any means. Typo’s may be inserrted deliberately to demonstrate this is not an AI product.     Otherwise, fair and reasonable use is accepted under Creative Commons 4.0 on an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike basis   https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/  

 

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