The Grey-Bruce Community Legal Clinic (GBCLC) will be hosting a Public Legal Education Booth to provide information on the law surrounding sexual harassment in the workplace.

“Sexual harassment in the workplace, or SHIW, is a serious problem,” says Rebecca Holton, a lawyer at the GBCLC and the head of the clinic’s SHIW Prevention Project. “It makes workers feel physically and emotionally unsafe in their jobs, and that’ssomething no one should have to experience. We want to make sure employees know that there are laws in place to protect them from SHIW, and that there are options available to them if they are sexually harassed at work.”

According to Holton, SHIW affects employers as well as employees. “Employers can face legal consequences if they don’t take proper steps to protect their employees from sexual harassment,” Holton says. “We know that the majority of employers want to provide their employees with a safe, healthy, harassment-free work environment. Our goal is to help them learn how.”

The objective of the clinic’s Public Legal Education Booth is to educate employers and employees alike on SHIW prevention. The booth will offer brochures and handouts that visitors can take home with them. There will be an anonymous SHIW-related survey which visitors may complete if they wish.

Visitors will also be able to ask a GBCLC lawyer any general questions they have about the law surrounding sexual harassment in the workplace, and if a visitor needs assistance with a specific situation, they will have the opportunity to book an appointment with the clinic for free legal advice.

The Public Legal Education Booth will be set up outside Owen Sound City Hall (Front Plaza) on September 28  from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM.

source: media release, GBCLC