Restaurant workers gather to combat harassment

Local restaurant workers gathered at a downtown eatery on the weekend to learn more about how to tackle sexual assault and harassment in their industry.

More than a dozen employees, employers and facilitators turned up at the event at Union Local 613 on Sunday afternoon. It was organized in the wake of high-profile Ottawa restaurateur Matthew Carmichael's public admission that he'd sexually harassed female co-workers.

The session gave attendees an opportunity to share their experiences and to learn about sexual assault laws, local resources and their rights.

Terrilee Kelford, a sexual assault counsellor and part-owner of Union Local 613, organized the event. She said recent events show sexual assault and harassment are still problems in the workplace.

'Shut up and put up'

"There has been a lot of dialogue and questions about how to proceed from here, and what the next steps are to move the dialogue forward and be more proactive when it comes to sexual harassment and sexual assault," Kelford said.

Sgt.Carolyn Botting of the Ottawa Police Service's sexual assault and child abuse division, and Jo-Ann Meloche, a lawyer who works with sexual assault victims, helped Kelford run the session.

Botting said attitudes need to change not just within the restaurant industry but across all employment sectors.

"It's not specific to the restaurant industry," Botting said. "Victims feel that they should just shut up and put up when that's not the case, and that's actually not the law."

Therapist Amanda Carver, who also attended the session, said restaurant workers often enter the industry expecting to be objectified. She said when workers know they have the support of their colleagues and employers, the shift away from that mindset can begin.