3. Identifying sexual and gender‑based harassment

Risk management process. A continual cycle of identify hazards, assess the risk, control the risk and review control measures with consultation throughout. Note, for known risks and controls the assess risks step can be bypassed. The first step, identify hazards, is highlighted in red.Sexual and gender-based harassment is a pervasive hazard occurring across all industries and the risk can be present in any workplace.

Identifying hazards is the first step of the risk management process.

As the PCBU you must identify risks of sexual and gender-based harassment to your workers, or to others arising from the work of your business or undertaking.

Identifying the risks of sexual and gender-based harassment involves understanding situations in which it could occur, including:

\- when and where (e.g. at the usual workplace; while making deliveries; via email)
\- how it could occur (e.g. from contact with customers or the public, or from other workers)
\- the potential nature of the harassment (e.g. verbal or physical, overt, subtle), and
\- who is likely to be affected.

You must identify where sexual or gender-based harassment is a reasonably foreseeable hazard that could give rise to risks to health and safety. This means identifying where it happens or could happen.

Sexual and gender-based harassment can harm workers both when they are directly exposed to instances of harassment as well as when they are exposed to the risk of it occurring. For example, workers exposed to sexual and gender-based harassment are likely to experience stress from the initial incident as well as ongoing stress if they perceive the risk has not been controlled, even if the harassment does not occur again. In this situation, despite the hazard rarely occurring, the stress itself may be prolonged and cause harm.

Overt or severe forms of sexual and gender-based harassment (such as sexual assault) may be easier to identify. However, more subtle forms like crude language or sexist remarks may not be reported and can be more difficult to identify.

Sexual and gender-based harassment can come from a range of sources including:

\- Internal, from other workers however they are engaged (e.g. employees, contractors, subcontractors or volunteers) and at any level (e.g. supervisors or managers, co‑workers at the same level or workers below their level).
\- External, from third parties such as from customers, clients, patients, residents, students, parents, carers, service providers, businesses (e.g. between a plumbing and an electrical subcontractor at the same work site; or a delivery person and a retail worker), members of the public or anyone else workers deal with at work.