Dane Gibson
Northern News Services

NNSL (Jun 30/99) - After suffering sexual harassment in her workplace and finding there was nowhere to turn for help, Renae Agrey decided to do something about it.

Agrey, along with her friend Sheila Haire, made some calls and brought together a group of people who are interested in remedying the situation.

"I'm one of many who have been lost and confused," Agrey said.

"I thought there had to be a way to streamline the process of resolving problems in the workplace in a respectable and appropriate way."

Representatives from the Workers Compensation Board, NWT Status of Women and various labour groups met last Monday to figure out how best to address the problem.

"This is something people have to talk about for the benefit of society. The ultimate goal of this process would be to see better legislation and strategies surrounding harassment and human rights," Agrey said.

WCB workers advisor Kate Tompkins said she got involved because there's a gap in services that needs to be addressed in the North.

"The WCB act doesn't cover sexual harassment in the work place, and as I understand it, sexual harassment isn't something that can be adequately covered by the Fair Practices Act," Tompkins said.

"But sexual harassment can be dealt with directly by the Canadian Human Rights Act. If we had a human rights commission in the NWT, then it could deal with such issues."

She said the main problem is there are many organizations and government agencies that could play a role but there is a need for "one-stop shopping."

"Most agencies are restricted to a narrow mandate, so for someone who has suffered sexual harassment in the workplace it can be a frustrating task to find help," Tompkins said.

"A woman who has experienced sexual harassment finds it very painful to tell her story 10 different times to 10 different agencies and still not get what she needs."

NWT Status of Women executive director Rosemary Cairns said when her organization receives a complaint about sexual harassment in the workplace, they aren't always sure where to direct it.

"There's all kinds of situations that we deal with where woman feel they have been treated disrespectfully in the workplace. That leads to a problem they have to struggle with by themselves, and leaves them feeling there's no resources available to help them," Cairns said.

"We're starting to pull together everyone who is working in this area to see what we can do now and what needs to be done in the future."

The working group is getting together again on June 30. For the two relatively private women who started the process, they have a renewed faith in the ability of private citizens to make headway on important issues.

"It makes me feel like a contributing member of society. It makes me believe everyday people can make change," Agrey said.