Sexual Harassment Policy
It is the intent of Young Life Australia to provide a work environment free from verbal, physical, and visual forms of sexual harassment. All staff and volunteers are to be sensitive to their co-workers. Young Life Australia will not allow any form of sexual harassment.
No Young Life Australia staff or volunteer may engage in sexual harassment of any other Young Life Australia staff or any other person associated with Young Life Australia.
Unwelcome or unwanted sexual advances, requests for sexual favours and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature, such as sexual jokes, gestures, graffiti, posters or other writings or other physical conduct, constitute sexual harassment when:
- Submission to such conduct is made either explicitly or implicitly a term or condition of an individual’s employment or other association with Young Life Australia.
- Submission to or rejection of such conduct by an individual is used as a basis for employment or personal decisions affecting such individual; or
- Such conduct has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with an individual’s ministry performance or creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive ministry environment.
If a staff member or volunteer feels that he/she has been subjected to or is a victim of sexual harassment, the staff member or volunteer should confront the perpetrator of the harassment and clearly let him/her know that the behaviour or particular form of harassment is not acceptable nor tolerable. This person may also directly report the harassment immediately to the staff or volunteer’s supervisor, the Regional Director or CEO or COO, at the Young Life Australia National Office.
Others who have observed sexual harassment should report the harassment IMMEDIATELY to the staff or volunteer’s supervisor, the Regional Director or CEO.
If a report of sexual harassment is mistaken or inaccurate, but is made in good faith, the staff or volunteer making the report will not be subjected to any form of disciplinary action for having made the report.
The CEO in conjunction with the relevant staff or volunteers will review each report of harassment and, if deemed necessary, support an investigation. Once the review and any necessary investigation are completed, Young Life Australia will take appropriate action to remedy or eliminate any sexual harassment found to have occurred, and/or to prevent future harassment.
Young Life Australia will seek to maintain confidentiality in the review and investigation process as far as maintaining confidentiality is not inconsistent with investigating the report of harassment, eliminating or remedying any sexual harassment found to have occurred, or preventing future harassment. Others will be informed of the report and any necessary investigation only if their involvement, in the opinion of Young Life Australia’s senior leadership, is necessary to the review or investigation of the harassment report, or to eliminating or rectifying any sexual harassment found to have occurred, or preventing future harassment.
Young Life Australia may, in its discretion, transfer, relocate or suspend any staff or volunteer alleged to have committed sexual harassment, pending a review or investigation of a sexual harassment report.
Any staff or volunteer who engages in sexual harassment, fails to cooperate in a review or investigation of a sexual harassment report or otherwise violates or acts in a manner inconsistent with this policy and procedure, may be immediately terminated or subjected to disciplinary action, at the discretion of Young Life Australia.
Staff or volunteers having questions about any part of this policy and procedure may consult with the CEO at the Young Life Australia National Office on: 1300 557 647.
Download Sexual Harassment Policy