#16DaysofActivism – Guest Blog – Ivana Bacik
10 December 2017
I believe that the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre’s current 16 Days of Action campaign represents an excellent opportunity to re-emphasise the Ask Consent Campaign and to raise awareness about the issue of consent. I also believe that the recent revelations about sexual violence and harassment in the arts, media and other sectors, both internationally and nationally, have opened up a very important public conversation about the need to combat all forms of unwanted sexual conduct, sexual harassment and, in the most extreme cases, sexual violence.
In this context, I greatly commend Grace Dyas for coming forward to highlight the incidence of sexual harassment in Irish theatre. Since she first came forward, other women have also outlined their own experiences of harassment, in the arts and other sectors. Sexual harassment has in reality been a serious issue across different sectors for many years. In 2003, I co-authored a study on gender discrimination in the legal professions (Bacik, Costello & Drew, Gender InJustice, TCD Law School, 2003), which noted significant levels of harassment experienced in the workplace by women lawyers.
Most recently, following Grace’s revelations, I helped the Amplify Women organisation to put together a Toolkit on Harassment (link below), intended as a resource for those experiencing harassment in the workplace, to inform them of their legal rights as employees or freelancers. This includes information on the different types of harassment that may be experienced, and explains where to get further assistance, and the appropriate routes for seeking redress.
Women who are experiencing sexual harassment and other forms of bullying in the workplace need to know that there are ways to challenge such behaviour, so that other women will be empowered to speak out, take action, and truly challenge the persistence of a culture that tolerates harassment and non-consensual sexual contact, wherever it exists.
