Human Rights Website (sexual harassment sector)
The Human Rights Code, 1981 provides a remedy for three common types of sexual harassment
The first type is "a course of vexatious comment or conduct that is known or ought reasonably to be known to be unwelcome" perpetrated by the person’s landlord, someone acting for the landlord, a co-tenant, a person’s employer, someone acting for the employer, or a co-worker. Examples of this type of behaviour include repeated sexual remarks, or physical contacts, that are degrading.
The second type of behaviour is a sexual advance or solicitation made by a person who is in a position to grant or deny a benefit to another. This is a contravention of the code when the peson making the solicitation or advance knows, or should know, that such behaviour is unwelcome. Unwelcome advances from a professor or teacher to a student, from a landlord to a tenant, or from an employer to an employee are examples of this type of behaviour
A third type of prohibited behaviour occurs when a person who is in a position to grant or deny a benefit threatens or institutes a reprisal against the person who rejected his or her sexual advance. An example is the firing of an employee because the employee has refused a sexual proposition.
What to do if you are sexually harassed
Filing a Complaint
When a person believes that he or she has been sexually harassed, he or she may file a complaint by contacting the nearest office of the Ontario Human Rights Commission. The code forbids reprisal or other actions against anyone who complains to the Commission (the complainant), or who assists with a complaint. For example, if an employer threatens to fire an employee for filing a complaint, or a landlord refuses to renew a lease because the tenant gave evidence about a complaint, the employer and the landlord are breaking the law.
Upon receiving a complaint, the Commission has the responsibility to investigate the matter with a view to arriving at an appropriate settlement. The purpose of the investigation is to obtain the facts which give rise to the complaint. Where appropriate, case settlements provide remedies for the person making the complaint, and may include an undertaking by the person against whom the complaint is made (the respondent) to take steps to prevent further harassment. Settlements may also include compensation for lost wages and mental anguish, or an offer of the next available job or accommodation.
Alternatively, the Commission will dismiss a complaint if it is of the opinion that the subject matter of the complaint is trivial, frivolous, vexatious or made in bad faith, or that there is a more appropriate procedure for dealing upon which a complaint was filed, the facts upon which a complaint is based occurred more than six months before the complaint was filed, the Commission may dismiss the complaint, unless the Commission is satisfied that the delay was justified. If the Commission decides to dismiss a complaint, it will notify the complainant, it will notify the complainant in writing, and advise of the procedure for having the decision reconsidered.
If a case cannot be settled, the Commission will review the evidence with a view to deciding whether to request the Minister of Labour to appoint a Board of Inquiry to hear the complaint. If the Board finds that there has been a contravention of the code, it may issue an order to ensure compliance with the code, and may order the payment of compensation to the complainant. If the Commission decides that a Board of Inquiry is inappropriate in the circumstances, it will notify the parties in writing, and advise the complainant of the procedure for having the decision reconsidered.
People in Authority Have a Responsibility
A person who has the authority to prevent or discourage sexual harassment is considered responsible for failing to exercise his or her authority to do so. If a complaint of harassment goes to a Board of Inquiry, the Board may find that a person, such as an employer or a landlord, knew or should have known about the harassment, and could have stopped it. If the board finds this, the responsible person may be added as a party to the hearing. If the harassment happens again, and the board finds that this person did not try to prevent the harassment or take action against the harasser, the board may order the person in authority to take steps to prevent further harassment. If the person in authority disobeys the order, he or she may be prosecuted.
Preventing Sexual Harassment
The following are preventive measures suggested for dealing with sexual harassment:
For further information or assistance, please contact the nearest office of the Ontario Human Rights Commission.
The Ontario Human Rights Code protects you from sexual harassment and other forms of harassment based on gender:
and in the places that offer the services you use, such as restaurants, hotels and hospitals.
If you feel you have been sexually harassed by:
You should try to tell that person to stop. Speak to the person’s boss or tell your union representative if it happens at work. Or you can complain directly to the Ontario Human Rights Commission.
What Is Sexual Harassment?
Sexual harassment means someone is bothering you by saying or doing unwanted or unwelcome things of a sexual nature.
Maybe the person:
Sexual harassment also means someone is bothering you because of your sex or gender. This kind of harassment does not have to be sexual. It can happen just because you are a man or a woman.
Sexual harassment and other forms of harassment based on gender or sex happen mostly to women, but they can also happen to men. These types of harassment cab happen between members of the same or opposite sex.
Sexual harassment and other forms of harassment based on gender or sex are wrong because they hurt people and make them uncomfortable. These kinds of harassment make living and working together very difficult, and they are against the law in Ontario.