US Service Industry Workers Training to Stop Sexual Harassment

US Service Industry Workers Training to Stop Sexual Harassment¹

Accusations² of sexual wrongdoing by film producer Harvey Weinstein and other famous people are having an effect on American businesses.

What is being called the “Weinstein Effect” has men in powerful positions facing similar accusations. It is also increasing understanding about the difference between friendly exchanges and criminal acts.

American Tyler Phillips has worked in the service industry since he was 15 years old. He now makes coffee and other drinks for a living.

Phillips has witnessed the power imbalance in places where he worked. He says he has seen wealthy customers making unkind comments or taking unwanted actions toward younger, low-wage workers.

"Sexism, racism³ -- is endemic to this industry," he says.

But Phillips also admits that he, like many others in the service industry, has no guidance from his employers on how to intervene in these situations.

So he joined several other people after work for a class on sexual harassment at The Potter's House.

The 57-year-old store has made a name for itself in Washington, D.C. area. Locals like to go to The Potter’s House because, unlike many coffee shops, it offers safe spaces for discussion and creative expression. Its business model is almost unheard of in the industry. It is a non-profit business, asking customers to "pay what you can" for a cup of coffee.

Discrimination training in demand

Melissa Yeo and another volunteer set up the training from a group called Collective Action for Safe Spaces. It started eight years ago with a goal of ending sexual harassment and abuse in the DC area.

The demand for the classes increased last month after Harvey Weinstein and other influential⁴ men were accused of sexual harassment.

Yeo notes that many people are unwilling⁵ to step in and stop harassment. For them, she says, it is "often not knowing if it will work, not knowing exactly what to do, or thinking it’s none of their business."

On a recent day, the coffee workers attending the class were from all over the DC area. They shared personal stories, which prove how common the problem. Some explained what they did to stop the abuse. They started by saying their first name and what gender⁶ they identify with.

Sam's story

"My name is Sam," said one man, as he began telling what he witnessed. He says a customer made a co-worker so uneasy with comments about her body that she left the area. Sam spoke⁷ to the man and asked that he stop “from making comments on the appearance of people who work in this space.” Instead of stopping, the customer argued that he was raised in the 1950's.

"That's no excuse," said the leader of the class.

The exercise continued until all the workers shared their experiences. The group decided⁸ how severe the discrimination was and rated it with markings on the wall in the front of the room.

Then Yeo added four more actions, including “Misgendering” and “Following.” Each of the four was written on a piece of paper, and added to the wall.

The two-hour class ended with students role-playing. Each person took on the behavior of someone else as part of a training exercise.

Future coffee classes

Mike Balderrama, one of the students, is the acting⁹ general manager of The Potter's House. He says the subject of intervening and stopping discrimination is "very near and dear to our heart."

Balderrama said the next training program for coffee shop employees is expected to deal with mental health and first aid. So The Potter's House will once again create the place for exploration of those issues.

I’m Lucija Millonig.

Words in This Story

endemic – adj. existing or growing in a place or area; common in a subject or field

harassment – n. oppression or repression¹⁰

customer – n. someone who purchases a product or service

gender – n. the behavior or qualities usually related to one sex

excuse – n. a reason or explanation

1 harassment   

n.骚扰，扰乱，烦恼，烦乱

参考例句：

• She often got telephone harassment at night these days.这些天她经常在夜晚受到电话骚扰。
• The company prohibits any form of harassment.公司禁止任何形式的骚扰行为。

2 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

3 racism   

n.民族主义；种族歧视(意识)

参考例句：

• He said that racism is endemic in this country.他说种族主义在该国很普遍。
• Racism causes political instability and violence.种族主义道致政治动荡和暴力事件。

4 influential   

adj.有影响的，有权势的

参考例句：

• He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
• He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。

5 unwilling   

adj.不情愿的

参考例句：

• The natives were unwilling to be bent by colonial power.土著居民不愿受殖民势力的摆布。
• His tightfisted employer was unwilling to give him a raise.他那吝啬的雇主不肯给他加薪。

6 gender   

n.（生理上的）性，（名词、代词等的）性

参考例句：

• French differs from English in having gender for all nouns.法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。
• Women are sometimes denied opportunities solely because of their gender.妇女有时仅仅因为性别而无法获得种种机会。

7 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

8 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

9 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

10 repression   

n.镇压，抑制，抑压

参考例句：

• The repression of your true feelings is harmful to your health.压抑你的真实感情有害健康。
• This touched off a new storm against violent repression.这引起了反对暴力镇压的新风暴。