The Byron Alexander Centre is committed to promoting full and equal participation of all students and staff in the activities of the school.  We are committed to the delivery of high quality services to all clients regardless of gender, cultural background, ethnicity or disability.  We welcome the full participation of students of all cultures and backgrounds and we value cultural diversity as an enriching factor in our educational provisions. 

The school is committed to fostering an environment free from discrimination and harassment.  Discrimination includes treating any staff member or student less favorably than others, on the basis of irrelevant factors as described in the relevant Commonwealth and State legislation. 

Harassment occurs when a person receives unwanted, offensive, humiliating or intimidating behaviour prohibited by the Commonwealth and State legislation outlined and interpreted below.

The director of the school is responsible for the Access and Equity policy.  The director shall ensure that the appropriate information is disseminated regarding course information, selection procedures, enrolment and induction.

The director will ensure that the Access and Equity policy is reviewed as part of the school’s commitment to Continuous Quality Improvement.

Our aim is to promote principles inherent in international, national and state legislation related to human rights, anti-discrimination and equal opportunity. These include:

Sex Discrimination Act 1984 (Cth)

Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Act 1999 (Cth)

Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (Cth)

Industrial Relations Legislation 1996 (NSW)

Australian Human Rights & Equal Opportunity Commission are responsible for promoting awareness about discrimination on other grounds covered by federal law including:

• sexual preference
• religion
• age
• political opinion
• criminal record
• trade union activity and
• medical record.

NSW Anti Discrimination Act 1977.  This Act covers the following types of discrimination:

Age
Carers’ responsibilities
Community languages
Disability
EEO
Exceptions & exemptions from the law
Harassment
Homosexuality
Indigenous
Infectious diseases
Marital status
Pregnancy
Race
Sex
Transgender
Victimisation
Vilification

The school works to promote adherence to the above Acts of Parliament and endeavours to identify and eradicate areas that may limit fulfilment of the requirements of the above through a process of continuous review.

 

Equal Opportunity in an Educational Institution

All students have equal access to opportunity on the basis of merit.  It is the school’s responsibility to identify and eliminate barriers to equality in education. In particular attention is given to the promotion of fairness and respect for women who are students or staff members at the school.

 

Harassment and discrimination

Harassment and discrimination is unacceptable on the basis of:

Age
Breastfeeding
Impairment
Industrial activity
Lawful sexual activity
Sexual orientation
Marital status
Physical features
Political belief or activity
Sex
Gender identity
Parental status/carer status
Personal association with anyone who is identified with any of the following characteristics.

Discrimination includes both directly treating someone in a less favourable manner on the grounds of the above.  Discrimination can also be indirect in that a policy or procedure may disadvantage a particular person on the ground of the above.

Particular attention is given to issues associated with sexual harassment, racial harassment, childcare and disability.

 

Racial Discrimination and Harassment:

Racial discrimination is when someone is treated less favourably than someone else in a similar situation because of race, colour, national or ethnic origin and descent.  Indirect racial discrimination is when a particular policy or rule disadvantages people of a particular ethnic origin, race, colour, national or ethnic origin.

This is against the law and the international convention on elimination of all forms of racial discrimination and promotion of the principle of equality before the law.

It is also against the law to do anything publicly that could encourage racial hatred, serious racial contempt, or severe racial ridicule against you or your racial group.  This type of behaviour is called ‘racial vilification’.

The following types of behaviour could be racial vilification and against the law:

• racist graffiti;
• racist speeches or statements made in public;
• racist abuse that happens in public;
• racist statements or remarks in a newspaper or other publications, or on the radio or television;
• people wearing racist symbols (such as badges) or clothing with racist slogans in public;
• racist gestures made in public;  and
• racist posters in a public place.

The school will take reasonable steps to prevent racial harassment and discrimination from occurring.

 

Sexual Harassment

The Byron Alexander Centre is committed to ensuring that its working and learning environment is free from sexual harassment, that sexual harassment will not be tolerated under any circumstances and that action will be taken against any staff member or student who breaches this policy.  The Byron Alexander Centre aims to:

• Create a working and learning environment that is free from sexual harassment and where all members of the school community are treated with dignity, courtesy and respect.
• Implement training and awareness raising strategies to ensure that all staff and students know their rights and responsibilities.
• Provide an effective procedure for complaints based on the principles of natural justice.
• Treat all complaints in a sensitive, fair, timely and confidential manner.
• Guarantee protection from any victimisation or reprisals.
• Encourage the reporting of behaviour, which breaches the sexual harassment policy.
• Promote appropriate standards of conduct at all times.

What is Sexual Harassment?
Sexual harassment is any unwanted, unwelcome or uninvited behaviour of a sexual nature, which makes a person feel humiliated, intimidated or offended.  Sexual harassment can take many different forms and may include physical contact, verbal comments, jokes, propositions, the display of offensive material or other behaviour, which creates a sexually hostile working or learning environment.  Sexual harassment can occur between men and women;  women and other women;  and men and other men.

Examples of Sexual Harassment include:
Sexual harassment can take a variety of forms.  It may involve physical contact, verbal remarks or non-verbal conduct of a sexual nature.  It can also include the display of offensive materials.  Some examples of sexual harassment that could occur in an educational institution include:

• uninvited touching;
• uninvited kisses or embraces;
• smutty jokes or comments in the workplace or the classroom;
• making promises or threats in return for sexual favours;
• displays of sexually graphic material including posters, pin-ups, cartoons, graffiti or messages left on notice boards, computers, desks or lockers, or in teaching materials, such as overheads, course booklets etc;
• repeated invitations to go out, especially after prior refusal;
• "flashing" or sexual gestures;
• sex based insults, taunts, teasing or name-calling;
• staring or leering at a person or at parts of their body;
• unwelcome physical contact such as massaging a person without invitation or deliberately brushing up against them;
• touching or fiddling with a person's clothing eg lifting up skirts, flicking bra straps;
• requests for sex;
• sexually explicit conversation;
• persistent questions or insinuations about a person's private life;
• offensive phone calls or letters;
• stalking;  sexual insults or taunting;
• offensive e-mail messages or computer screen savers.

What Sexual Harassment is not
Sexual harassment is NOT behaviour, which is based on mutual attraction, friendship or respect.  If the interaction is consensual, welcome and reciprocated it is not sexual harassment.  Behaviour can become sexual harassment if the interaction changes from being based on mutual attraction, friendship or respect to non-consensual, unwelcomed and unreciprocated interactions.

The Circumstances
A person can be sexually harassed by a supervisor or manager, a co-worker, a lecturer, a student or a contractor.  Sexual harassment is unlawful during working hours, on the school grounds, and in any work-related or educationally-related context, including conferences, work or student functions or activities, business or field trips.  Similarly, harassment between students may also be unlawful if it occurs at organised social events, on field trips or excursions.

The Legal Implications
Sexual harassment in employment and education is against the law and will not be tolerated under any circumstances (Sex Discrimination Act 1984, NSW Anti-Discrimination Act 1977). Forms of sexual harassment that also constitute a criminal offence include:

• physically molesting a person;
• indecent exposure;
• sexual assault;
• stalking;  and
• obscene communications (telephone calls, faxes, letters etc).

Management has a duty to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace and learning environment and is held responsible if it occurs, unless all reasonable steps have been taken to prevent and/or eliminate it. 

Responsibilities of Academic and Administrative Supervisors

• Monitor the teaching, learning and working environment to ensure that acceptable standards of conduct are observed at all times;
• Model appropriate behaviour themselves;
• Promote the School’s sexual harassment policy within the learning and working environment;
• Treat all complaints seriously and confidentially and take immediate action to resolve the matter;
• Ensure that no victimization occurs against the person who makes a complaint;  and
• Refer complaints to Equal Opportunity/Equity Units where they do not feel that they are the best person to deal with the situation, eg where there is a conflict of interest, or if the complaint is particularly serious or complex. 

All Staff and Students have a responsibility to:

• Comply with the School’s sexual harassment policy;
• Offer support to anyone who is being harassed and advise them on where to seek assistance and support;  and
• Maintain confidentiality of information provided during an investigation of a complaint.  Students and staff need to be aware that spreading gossip or rumours may expose them to a defamation action.

What can you do?
Any person who feels that they are being sexually harassed or observes incidences of sexual harassment has the right to complain and take action.  Behaviour which is unwelcome and unwanted sexual conduct in the workplace is not permitted. If you experience the problem you can:

• Ask the person to stop, where you feel comfortable.  While this may be difficult, it can be an effective way of stopping the unwelcomed behaviour.
• Contact your Academic or Administrative supervisor, if the harassment continues, or you don't feel comfortable talking with the person about their behaviour.  They can assist you in dealing with the problem in a completely confidential manner. 

When a complaint is made
All complaints of sexual harassment will be treated seriously, investigated promptly, impartially and confidentially and in accordance with the principles of natural justice.  If sexual harassment is found to have occurred, action will be taken to stop the behaviour and depending on the seriousness of the case, appropriate disciplinary action will be taken against the offender(s) under the relevant provisions related to student or staff misconduct.

 

Disability

Taking into account the inherent requirements of the course for student or teaching positions, the school will make all reasonable efforts to assess each student on the basis of their personal situation and merits.  All reasonable effort will be made to accommodate their individual needs within the bounds of justifiable cost to the school.

 

Childcare

Students and staff should have equality of access to opportunity in the school regardless of their status as a carer of dependent children.  The school is committed to recognizing the need for children to occasionally attend classes. Requests for children to attend classes should be treated sympathetically. Women may need to breastfeed in class.