An associate professor at Thompson Rivers University hopes a research project studying the prevalence of sexual harassment in Kamloops’ hospitality industry will help improve workplace safety and result in better supports for restaurant workers.
Rochelle Stevenson, who works in TRU’s department of environment, culture and society, said she embarked on the research project in partnership with the Kamloops Sexual Assault Counselling Centre.
A survey has been launched to better understand the experiences of Kamloops restaurant workers. Stevenson said while it’s too early to draw definitive conclusions, initial trends indicate sexual harassment in the local food and beverage industry is “very widespread.”
“We haven't had any respondents so far say it's never happened to them. So that’s kind of scary thinking about it, 100 per cent of people who are responding to the survey say it’s happened to them,” Stevenson said.
“As we get more respondents, we might see that shift. But we are seeing a very high prevalence.”
Stevenson, who has focused much of her research on gender-based violence, said the project started after she connected with KSACC, which expressed interest in launching a study of sexual harassment in the food and beverage industry.
Stevenson said the aim of the research project is to find out how to better support those who work in the local industry, including restaurant owners and managers.
This could take the form of creating draft policies and training resources which restaurants can easily implement. The research could also inform a public education campaign, and help bolster or tailor support services for industry employees.
The research project has three phases, the first of which was completed last year and involved reaching out to every restaurant in Kamloops. Researchers asked owners or managers if they had a sexual harassment policy, how it was communicated to staff, and if there was a formal complaint process in place.
She said researchers were able to speak with 30 per cent of about 230 restaurants. Half of the respondents had a sexual harassment policy in place, and others had a general harassment policy, but Stevenson said about 30 per cent didn’t have a policy at all.
Stevenson said researchers learned there is also a gap in understanding what sexual harassment is.
“With the partnership with KSACC, we really see that as the opportunity to provide education and training to restaurant owners in that way to help create better workplaces,” she said.
The second phase involves surveying as many local restaurant staff as possible about their own experiences with sexual harassment, and if their workplaces have harassment policies in place. Stevenson said researchers are hoping for good participation from all age groups, and from workers in all different types of restaurants — from fast food to fine dining.
Stevenson said researchers also want to hear from people who work at the back of the house — something she said has been largely overlooked in existing literature on the subject.
“Much of the work that we see on sexual harassment is either between co-workers at front of house — so servers, bartenders, that kind of thing — or between servers and patrons, but the folks who work in the kitchen or at the back of the house in food prep or dishwashing or that kind of thing are often overlooked or not included,” she said.
“That's one of the things that we really want to try to get the word out about is that it's not just for folks who are customer facing, but also for folks who are not customer facing.”
She noted survey respondents remain anonymous.
A link to the survey can be found at shkamloops.trubox.ca. All Kamloops restaurant industry workers are invited to take part, and participants have the opportunity to be entered into a draw to win one of five $100 Amazon gift cards.
