Being a caregiver is a job that brings you in close contact with various kinds of people. While this is a wonderful opportunity to provide care for many people, it also has its own unique challenges, one of which is the possibility of sexual harassment by clients. This makes it important for every caregiver to know how to protect themselves in the event of sexual harassment. Outlined below are 5 practical steps to take to protect yourself as a caregiver from sexual harassment or abuse.
- Know Your Rights: As a caregiver, it is important to educate and familiarize yourself with the laws regarding workplace sexual harassment and abuse in your locality, state and nation. This equips you with information on how to properly address such issues if or when they occur because as the popular saying goes, knowledge is power.
- Establish Clear Boundaries: It is important to maintain a professional relationship with your client by sticking to your job roles and avoiding getting too personal and familiar in your interactions with them. Maintaining a cordial and formal tone of communication, refraining from discussing or divulging personal information and avoiding informal forms of physical greeting are a few ways to establish clear boundaries with your clients. This is a proactive way to ward off sexual harassment or abuse.
- Communicate Your Disapproval: In the event that you are sexually assaulted or harassed by a client, immediately communicate your disapproval. This can prevent future recurrences of the situation with yourself or others and help to educate the individual that such behavior is inappropriate and unacceptable in the case that they may have been unaware.
- Report and Document Incidents: If you are sexually assaulted or harassed by a client, make sure to immediately report to the appropriate authorities within your organization and adhere to your organization’s policies on handling the situation. They will usually document the incident, address the client directly and employ other legal means to ensure that a recurrence of such an event is prevented.
- Remove Yourself From The Situation: If the occurence of a sexual harassment with a work client poses a threat to your safety or life, and your organization or agency is not actively pursuing preserving your safety through the right channels after you have reported, it is necessary for you to remove yourself from the situation by terminating your work contract with them, reporting to the police and seeking legal advice.
CONTACT VITALIS HEALTHCARE
At Vitalis HealthCare, we provide a warm, conducive and safe environment for the team of certified nursing assistants and professional caregivers who work with us. We are constantly looking for professional caregivers and certified nursing assistants who view providing aid as a passion and not just a job.
If you are interested in working with us, send in your application or contact us for further enquiry using the contact details outlined below.
Phone Number
240.716.6874
Email: info@vitalishealthcare.com
Location
We provide our services in every county in the State of Maryland, United States of America.
Office Address: 8757 Georgia Avenue Suite 440 Silver Spring, MD 20910