PEI’s program to reduce sexual harassment in the workplace continues despite a lack of federal funding

A PEI project will continue to encourage people to talk about sexual harassment in the workplace, even though federal funding for the program is running out.

The Shift Project, led by the PEI Human Rights Commission, began in 2019. It was inspired by #MeToo, the global social awareness campaign against sexual abuse and harassment.

The Federal Ministry of Justice funded the program for five years, but that support ended in the spring.

Still, the project manager said the provincial human rights commission will continue to fund the shift workshops because the problem is so widespread in workplaces on the island.

Sexual harassment in the workplace can be very isolating for those who experience it, says Sarah Denman-Wood, Shift Project Manager at the PEI Human Rights Commission. (Submitted by Sarah Denman-Wood)

“It was clear from the calls the Human Rights Commission received that sexual harassment in the workplace is a problem in PEI,” said Sarah Denman-Wood Island morning Host Mitch Cormier on Tuesday.

“One goal of the Shift Project was to make people aware of this and prevent it.”

In 2021, Shift launched an anonymous survey on sexual harassment in the workplace that involved over 1,600 Islanders, about four times the number organizers had expected.

Of those who completed the questionnaire, 1,035 said they had experienced sexual harassment in the workplace.

While many gave examples of what they had experienced, 124 people chose not to say anything for fear of reprisals, even though organizers had guaranteed anonymity.

Because of the pandemic, Shift workshops were largely offered virtually in the first few years, but Denman-Wood said as in-person workshops began, it became clear that people were more willing to express themselves in that format.

“We started adapting it to each workplace I wanted to work at,” she said. “What had happened there…what were their concerns, what were their specific concerns about how to report it, should they report it, where do they go?”

‘You are not alone’

While the Human Rights Commission awaits word on whether additional funding will be available for Shift, it hopes to continue offering these in-person workshops.

Above all, Denman-Wood hopes Islanders continue to talk to someone about sexual harassment in the workplace.

“You’re not alone, and that’s a big problem when it comes to sexual harassment,” she said. “It can be so isolating, and when we don’t talk about the things that bother us, that upset us, they grow.”