
Katey Halliday
By Katey Halliday
We have no place for harassment in Rotary. People won’t join or stay if they are exposed to harassment.
Rotary’s policy on maintaining a harassment-free environment at meetings, events, and activities makes it clear that harassment will not be tolerated. It even stipulates that all Rotary leaders, including club presidents, shall be provided with annual training on Rotary International’s policies on the topic.
But is it just up to leaders to ensure that Rotary is a harassment-free zone? Of course not. It takes each one of us to create and maintain a culture that does not condone, ignore, or excuse harassment.
- Educate yourself
Harassment is broadly defined as any conduct, verbal or physical, that denigrates, insults, or offends a person or group based on any characteristic (age, ethnicity, race, colour, abilities, religion, socioeconomic status, culture, sex, sexual orientations, or gender identity). (Rotary Code of Policies 26.120)
There is nothing in this definition about intention. None of us are immune to unwittingly engaging in behaviour which could be viewed as harassment. The fact that it might have been ‘just a joke’ is no excuse.
It is not the job of victims of harassment to educate us, we must educate ourselves. The more aware we are about the diversity of the communities we serve, the less likely we are to inadvertently offend someone.
And if we do get called out, we must not get defensive, but reflect, learn and change our behaviour.