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Project title |
“Speak Up!”:
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Project manager |
This project is a part of Kristian Stampe Nielsen’s Ph.D.-project: "Investigating the Role of Bystanders in Gender-Based Violence and Harassment at Work " |
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Project description |
Objectives The aim of the Nordic SUSH project is to identify and tests methods of preventing sexual harassment (SH) in the workplace. In doing this the project aims to include a focus on gendered assumptions and intersectionality in SH as a phenomenon and in relation to its prevention. The Danish part of the project focuses on testing and evaluating the intervention called “Intervene-SH”. This is a dialogue-based, user-friendly standardized intervention that organizations may employ themselves. The intervention uses short cases/vignettes, among other things, that portray real life situations, characters, and dynamics, which are easy to identify with. The aim of the intervention is to increase the participating managers and employee’s 1) awareness of what constitutes sexual harassment, 2) awareness of the negative consequences of passive or colluding bystander behaviours, 3) awareness of risk situations for SH as well as 4) an increase in constructive bystander behaviour among participants. The intervention will include a one-day seminar or workshop for managers and employee representatives with the purpose of helping them plan and execute their own interventions as well as participate in the evaluation of the intervention. The main aims of the Danish study are thus:
Background Multiple Danish and international studies have shown that sexual harassment (SH) is still a problem in many organizations. Young women, women from ethnic minorities, migrant workers and LBTQ+ persons are more exposed to SH at work. The SUSH interventions are built on two innovative perspectives; 1) the ecological perspective (the interconnectedness of all levels and parts of an organization), 2) theory of intersectionality where gender, ethnicity and other power relations are interconnected. Thus, SUSH moves SH prevention beyond the “typical heterosexual man harassing white woman” scenario portrayed in most organizational training material.
Methods The study employs a mixed method design to examine the effect and process of Intervene-SH. The effects will be measured by distributing surveys and conducting group interviews at baseline (T1) and at follow-up (T3) in the participating organisation. The qualitative data are used to corroborate and explain the quantitative data by connecting them with each other in the analysis and interpretation phase. In this study, the quantitative data are used to measure the effect of the intervention and the qualitative data are used to provide depth by illuminating the participants' experience, to understand the intervention process and to examine stimulating and obstructing factors in implementing interventions of this type.
Perspectives The SUSH interventions will yield valuable findings on SH prevention across three Nordic countries. The anticipated result is the development and evaluation of interventions aimed at preventing SH. The assumed direct effects of the implemented SUSH interventions are increased awareness and knowledge of sexual harassment and its negative consequences, increased awareness of passive or colluding bystander behaviours, risk situations for SH as well as an increase in constructive bystander behaviour among participants. The long-term goal of SUSH is to develop good and effective interventions against sexual harassment in the workplace. There are currently relatively few well-tested interventions against sexual harassment and those that do exist are often not theory- and research-based. If it is possible to find additional funds, another long-term goal of the project is to test the intervention in several workplaces and to make instructional films that also focus on intersectionality, and which will be available free of charge in the Nordic countries for use by organizations. In addition, the plan is to develop and test an inventory measuring bystander behaviour pre and post SUSH interventions.
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Start date and expected end date |
01.01.2022 - 30.06.2023 |
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The project is carried out under |
THRIVE Research Group |
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Collaborators |
Brita Bjørkelo (Professor, Norwegian Police University College), Linda Lane (Senior Lecturer, Göteborg University), Ulla-Carin Hedin (Professor, Göteborg University), Celine Pedersen (Researcher, Norwegian Police University College) and Kristian Stampe Nielsen (Ph.D. fellow, SDU). |
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Funding |
Nordic Council of ministers |
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Keywords |
Sexual harassment, intervention, prevention, intervention research, bystanders, qualitative research, quantitative research, work environment, organizations, intersectionality, mixed method, gender-based harassment |
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