Humans are animals, too, classified as mammals, and part of our human nature includes the psychology of just ignoring others’ need for help when others are present. This feature of human nature has been well documented in studies and occurs when the presence of others hinders an individual from intervening in an emergency situation.
We also just might not step in to support someone or say anything in the workplace when we are present in a situation that would be considered sexual harassment.
Now, to help make workplaces in Chicago safer for everyone, training on bystander intervention has been added to the sexual harassment prevention training requirements for any company with 1 or more employees in the state of Illinois. Employees working in the city of Chicago will now learn about how the bystander effect and ways to notice, recognize, assume, and take action, in addition to receiving annual sexual harassment prevention training required by the state of Illinois.
Recent statistics shared by FUTURES Without Violence report 4 in 5 women and nearly 1 in 4 men experience sexual harassment in the workplace.
Chicago, Illinois, workplaces are now required to provide the following training annually:
1-Hour of Sexual Harassment Prevention Training ANNUALLY, as required by the state of Illinois +
1-Hour of Bystander Intervention Training ANNUALLY
In addition, the penalty for individuals or businesses that participate in discriminatory practices in the workplace will increase from $500 to $1,000 per violation to $5,000 to $10,000.
And here are some quick tips, too, in our age of using cell phones to video and photo actions – don’t just take the photo or video, speak up:
Delegate: ask people around you for help while you monitor the situation
Distract: get in the way, but continue what you are doing
Direct: Directly respond to the harasser – ask them to leave the other person alone, say “This is inappropriate”, and ask the person if they need help or how you can help.
Delay: Check in with the victim after you have stopped the harasser or assisted them, and ask them what help you can provide them.
Any company needing training for Sexual Harassment Prevention, including Bystander Intervention training, meeting state requirements (many states beyond Illinois require this training, including California) and now City of Chicago employee training requirements, may contact us by emailing: susan@caregiverlist.com or calling us at 312-669-8821. We keep all of our training up-to-date as we support thousands of companies nationwide with their employee training in a modern platform.
