Safe Work Australia has released a new set of resources to help employers identify, assess and manage the risks of gender-based violence in the construction industry. The resources include practical case studies, posters and infographics designed for use on construction worksites.
Gender-based violence is behaviour that humiliates, intimidates or threatens a person because of their sex, gender, sexual orientation or because they don't conform to gender stereotypes. It includes physical violence, as well as sexual harassment, verbal abuse, bullying, and offensive languages and behaviours.
Gender‑based violence is a mental health (psychosocial) hazard that can occur in any workplace. However, certain workplace factors can increase the risk of it occurring if they are not effectively managed. In construction, these factors can include workforce characteristics such as a male‑dominated, young or transient workforce, work design such as high job demands, and organisational or environmental factors such as low job support or isolated work environments.
The new resources were developed by Safe Work Australia in collaboration with construction industry stakeholders to ensure they reflect specific WHS challenges experienced by women in the construction industry. They are designed to raise awareness of what gender-based violence can look like on construction sites, the impact of these harmful behaviours, and what employers must do to prevent them.
Access the new resources and take steps to keep construction worksites safe from gender-based violence.
- Case study: Managing the risk of gender-based violence in construction
- Case study: Managing the risk of psychosocial hazards in construction
- Guidance: Workplace violence in construction - Hazards and control measures
- Poster: What is gender-based violence?
- Poster: Your rights as a worker
- Poster: Employer responsibilities
- Poster: What to do as a bystander
- Poster: Keeping our worksite safe from gender-based violence
- Infographic: Why bad culture sticks around on site
- Infographic: If you let it slide, it will grow
- Infographic: Preventing gender-based violence starts with respect
