Sunday 9 September

Guerrilla Advertising Campaign to Draw Attention to Problem

Innovative advertising tactics will be used by the Human Rights Commission to raise awareness about the problem of sexual harassment in the hospitality industry, in this year’s Sexual Harassment Prevention Campaign.

“The problem of sexual harassment is wide-spread and pervasive in the hospitality industry: 20% of the Commission’s sexual harassment complaints come from the hospitality sector yet the industry employs only 4-5% of New Zealand workers” said Chief Human Rights Commissioner Rosslyn Noonan.

Industry focus group research revealed that workers in the hospitality industry do not consume traditional media and are sceptical recipients of targeted information.

Traditional structures to send messages into the industry are also limited: the industry tends to have casual employment arrangements, the workforce is not highly unionised and shift work is common.

“We were faced with the double challenge of producing messages that would be relevant to the unique aspects of the hospitality industry and then getting those messages out to both workers and employers” said Ms.Noonan.

The campaign targets young restaurant and bar workers, their employers, and those who are responsible for protecting their staff from sexual harassment. It utilises radio ads, classified employment advertising, and a range of street media.

“The campaign presents workers and employers with awareness-raising messages in a provocative way in order to clearly display what constitutes sexual harassment,” said Ms.Noonan.

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