Confronting workplace harassment

I recently wrote an article for The Metro newspaper. 
Click the image below to read the piece on The Metro’s website:

In my former career in advertising, I never recognised Karen's* daily intrusions as harassment. It was simply an awkward daily ritual before I could immerse myself in my work.

My colleagues treated it as a joke, but for me, it was a daily ordeal of discomfort and humiliation.

The ‘penny dropped’ when a colleague pointed out the obvious: had a man behaved in a similar way, it would be blatant sexual harassment.

Reflecting on my experiences from my youth, starting as a 17-year-old trainee air engineer in the Royal Navy, the unwanted attention and physical advances were distressing. Like many young women, I learnt to evade and protect myself. I dressed in an androgenous style, kept my hair short and tried not to attract physical attention… but avoidance wasn't a real solution.

Decades later, this problem is still rampant, in workplaces and educational institutions alike.

Alarming figures from the TUC and the National Union of Students (NUS) as well as others, underscore this pervasive issue. It affects not just women but also men, though to a lesser extent.

The difficulty lies in reporting these incidents. Many, myself included, have remained silent due to not wanting to cause a fuss, fear of disbelief, or ignorance of the reporting process.

This silence must be broken.

After I read a report of sexual harassment in a London college that I used to work at, I explored what could practically be done.

This journey led to the creation of SaferSpace.io with my friend Sunita. It offers a simple, anonymous way to report workplace harassment, with real-time reporting for HR and an AI chatbot for support.

Of course, ED &I training is invaluable, but hardened perpetrators who enjoy the thrill of harassing and humiliating their victims, or who are racist, already know what they are doing, is wrong.

Our aim is to foster a safer environment for everyone, underpinned by the recent Worker Protection Bill.

SaferSpace.io is more than a business endeavour; it's a deeply personal mission.

*Karen is not her real name.


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Meeting the requirements of the Worker Protection Act

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