חומר רקע

Prevention and Means of Handling: Sexual Harassment towards Workers in the Home Nursing Sector January, 2022 Definition Sexual harassment is a violation of human dignity, liberty, privacy and the right to equality. Sexual harassment can take various forms, from indecent acts to abasement and humiliation based on sex. Sexual harassment is a criminal offense punishable by imprisonment, and in addition, the injured party can file an action for compensation against the harasser (s. 6 of the Prevention of Sexual Harassment Law, 5748-1988). Sexual harassment is also prohibited in the workplace, and the employer has an obligation to ensure that the work environment is safe and protected. Under s. 3 of the law, sexual harassment is any of the following acts: 1.Blackmailing a person by threats to carry out an act of a sexual nature Blackmail by threats is of a sexual nature where the act that the employer is required to do under blackmail is of a sexual character. For example: "If you refuse to get dressed in my presence, I will not pay you this month". 2.An indecent act An indecent act is an act committed for sexual arousal and/or satisfaction. For example: touching intimate body parts. 3.Repeated propositions of a sexual nature For example: repeated propositions to give a massage, repeated propositions to have sexual intercourse. 4.Repeated references to a person's sexuality Such references can be made in writing, orally, with pictures, by means of a computer, and by behavior. For example: "Your smell is driving me wild". 5.Humiliating or degrading reference of a sexual nature Degrading references include degrading or humiliating references attr to the caregiver with respect to her gender, sexuality or sexual inclination. For example: "All caregivers like to be touched". 6.Publishing a picture, a video or a recording of a person, while focusing on his sexuality, in circumstances in which the publication is liable to humiliate or degrade him, without that person's consent For example: photographing the caregiver while in the shower and distributing the photograph. 7.Exploitation of authority relations in sexual harassment Authority relations are relations where one party is able to exercise control and exploit his power over the other party. For example: a relationship between the patient's relative who is in charge of paying the caregiver's wage, and the caregiver. 8.Adverse treatment Adverse treatment is any harmful act, the source of which is sexual harassment or a complaint of sexual harassment. For example: an employer dismisses an employee based on her refusal to accept propositions of a sexual nature. Complexities in the nursing sector In the home nursing sector, most of the employed workers are foreign workers. As of the time of publishing, over 60,000 women and men (the overbearing majority of which are women) are employed in Israel under a work permit and live at their employer's home, or at the home of their patient's family. The number of workers in this sector is even expected to rise significantly, in view of the increase of life expectancy in Israel, and the preference to grow old at home, together with the lack of Israeli workers who are interested in working in this sector. The home nursing sector is one of many complexities and sensitivities. Even more so in matters concerning the issue of sexual harassment: foreign caregiving workers perform "one on one" work, live with the patient who is their employer, and are with him in sensitive and intimate situations. Such workers depend on the patient for their livelihood, accommodation and continued stay in Israel. In many cases, the worker is also dependent upon the patient's family members, and therefore is even more broadly exposed and vulnerable. To this is added another difficulty, which is under- reporting of sexual harassment complaints. This stems from the worker's financial dependency upon the patient, but also from the worker's need to maintain her routine daily life with the employer, which directly impacts her set of considerations when deciding whether or not to complain when she experiences sexual harassment. Notwithstanding, we should once again clarify: sexual harassment is prohibited and must not be tolerated. What can be done if you are harassed at the workplace? Emergency hotline for women: 1202 Emergency hotline for men: 1203 Workers who wish to complain against employers have several options: 1.The worker must first report any violation to the private recruitment agency with which she is registered. The private recruitment agency has a social worker acting on its behalf, who undergoes appropriate training for handling sensitive cases, and who is familiar with the worker and the patient. S. 6.3.16 of the "Private Agency Procedure for Bringing, Recruitment and Care of Foreign Caregivers" (Procedure No. 9.2.001 of the Population and Immigration Authority) refers, inter alia, to cases where there is a suspicion of sexual harassment, and imposes a reporting obligation upon the social worker and the general manager of the private agency. In such cases, the private agency shall proceed to examine the complaint, according to the instructions of the social worker in charge, and in the appropriate cases, it shall visit the patient's house and handle the complaint in accordance with the law. 2.You can contact the Commissioner for Foreign Workers' Labor Rights Unit (the service we provide is state-provided and free of charge). 3.You can contact the Association of Rape Crisis Centers in Israel: Emergency hotline for Arab women: 04-6566813 Assistance via WhatsApp: 052-8361202 4.If you are a victim of sexual assault you are entitled to medical treatment, free of charge and regardless of your status. Victims are entitled to treatment in 7 dedicated acute rooms in general hospitals. Dedicated teams, who have undergone training in the area of sexual trauma, operate in these rooms, and they provide personally tailored and sensitive treatment. These rooms provide year-round 24/7 response, and are intended for both children and adults. Location of the acute rooms*: *The Lobby for War on Sexual Violence. The roles of the private recruitment agencies in the prevention and handling of sexual harassment at the workplace The private agencies have a significant role in the handling of sexual harassment, and also in the prevention thereof. The following are some measures that can be taken in order to handle, prevent and/or identify scenarios that may be harmful: 1.During routine visits, the social worker, in every meeting with the worker, must have a private conversation with her, without the employer and/or a family member or other representative of the employer. It is important to note that meeting the worker without the employer and/or any of their relatives provides the worker with a safe and protected space in which they can complain. We recommend that during this conversation the worker receive an information sheet, in their own language. In addition, the worker must be asked specifically if they have suffered any sexual violations by the employer and/or any of their relatives, and the worker's rights must be explained to her. 2.As aforementioned, workers who are harmed at work do not only lose their source of income but also their accommodation. Therefore, private agencies can assist in finding alternative accommodation for any worker who is harmed at work and is therefore forced to leave. 3.Agencies who wish to acquire tools for identifying and dealing with the problem of sexual harassment can apply to persons and bodies who provide training and guidance on sexual offenses committed by employers against their employees, or join such guidance sessions, which are held, from time to time, by the Commissioner for Foreign Workers' Labor Rights Unit, as part of the 'Nursing Workers' Rights Trustees Project'. 4.We should once again state – for home nursing workers, the workplace is also where they live. It is important to preserve these workers' safety and protection, to prevent high-risk situations at the outset, and to provide assistance, if needed, without delay.