Preventing and responding to gender based violence: a whole school framework

Responding to GBV experienced by a member of staff

Context

It is good practice to assume that members of the school staff team will have experienced GBV. They may have experienced a form of GBV outside work, or they may be living with a current situation, for example in relation to domestic abuse, stalking, sexual violence or honour-based violence. They may also have experienced GBV in the workplace: they may have provided support to children and young people, or to a colleague, experiencing GBV, or they may have witnessed or experienced GBV perpetrated by other staff members, children and young people, parents/carers or other members of the community. Experiences of GBV can have long lasting impacts on individuals’ mental health and wellbeing.

Protections for school staff

All staff are entitled to the protection provided by the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, which places employers under a duty to ensure, as far as reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare of employees at work. This duty includes protecting employees from violent incidents, including GBV incidents, and reducing the risks of such incidents occurring. Under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, employers must assess risks to employees and make arrangements for their health and safety by effective planning, organisation, control, monitoring and review. This includes protecting employees from the risk of violence such as GBV. It is important that individual employees are consulted as part of the risk assessment process and that Trade Union Safety Representatives are consulted on risk assessment processes, procedures and findings.

Local authority and school wide actions

Schools and local authorities should:

• Acknowledge that staff may be affected by GBV, including in the workplace, and ensure all staff have access to information about local authority wellbeing policies, and other relevant support services (for example by displaying information in staff rooms and bathroom facilities)
• Outline the different ways to report an incident of GBV, for example to line managers, trade union representatives, HR, or dedicated GBV support officer. Staff should be encouraged and supported to report any workplace issues
• Reporting should be monitored, and appropriate measures put into place to ensure dignity and safety at work, and to inform plans to address GBV as part of a whole school approach
• Ensure that the school is equipped to respond to reports of GBV affecting staff
• Ensure that sexual harassment and gender-discriminatory attitudes towards staff are always challenged
• Ensure that staff who deal with GBV in the course of their work – whether routinely or on a one-off basis – can access advice so that they are confident about how to handle such issues, as well as receive emotional support
• Recognise that staff affected by past or current experiences of GBV may require measures to support them, for example in relation to any current safety concerns or mental health and wellbeing issues. It’s important to work with staff to decide what measures may be of help, as a trauma-informed, supportive, and empowering approach is most likely to promote safety and recovery
• Be familiar with and follow their local authority’s GBV policy (and/or sexual harassment policy, or domestic abuse policy) for guidance on employment practices and support for those affected
• Be aware of different support mechanisms that can be offered to staff such as special leave, flexible working, employee assistance programme, or safety planning.

Individual Measures

People experiencing or who have experienced GBV often welcome proactive measures that organisations and workplaces take to tackle the issues, as this recognises and validates their experience, and demonstrates a commitment to preventing violence and supporting those affected. However, it’s important to recognise that any experience of GBV will have been or will continue to be traumatic, and that talking about GBV can bring up difficult feelings and memories for those with personal experience.

To manage this appropriately, schools should:

• Inform all staff of training sessions ahead of them taking place, acknowledging the potential impact on staff affected and reminding staff of support options;
• Allow staff to determine their own engagement with the work, for example by enabling them to take breaks whenever they require during training sessions and inviting staff to volunteer to take forward work, rather than appointing them;
• Signposting to support services when communicating with staff about GBV;
• Outlining what steps a member of staff could take if they have any concerns.

Staff can contact their trade union for support if they experience GBV at work. In the cases where a member of staff has experienced or is at risk of GBV, this should be treated a health and safety issue and relevant local authority procedures followed: there may be separate reporting mechanisms for staff and children and young people, depending on local authority procedures.

Following an incident of GBV reported by school staff, a health and safety assessment should be conducted. Agreement should be reached with the staff member on the risk mitigation measures to be adopted, including any reasonable adjustments. Provision should be made for regular review of the risk assessment and the effectiveness of the risk mitigation measures adopted.

Staff should be empowered by being given time to report all incidents and to recover immediately after an incident. All incidents should be recorded robustly and appropriately.

For more information see Resources for staff who experience GBV.