A: There are several factors in play here, depending on your role and your school's policy and procedure. If you are a peer of the staff member (i.e., not part of the school's leadership team), then it is certainly appropriate for you to be as comforting and reassuring as possible. We would recommend, though, that while support is always important, in the best interests of all concerned, the best thing you can do to help your co-worker and the school is to encourage the person to report the incident to management (according to your harassment reporting procedure). No one should have to "suffer in silence"—and the situation can only be resolved if it is reported and addressed directly.
If you are a member of school management, though, the recommended response is somewhat different. Again, while comfort and "listening" is always appropriate, a member of management has a different responsibility—that is, to honor the process that has been established for addressing these issues and to try to remain as neutral and objective as possible. A management official should always:
- Thank the employee for raising the issue with you
- Assure the person that the school takes these issues very seriously
- Confirm that the school's policy prohibits retaliation for reporting an incident
- Advise him/her that you will bring this to the Head's attention immediately, and that the Head will begin an investigation
While it is very hard to do so (especially because you will have great sympathy for the employee), it is important not to "take sides" in pre-judging the situation. It is critical that you report it to the Head immediately and let the investigation run its course unfettered. In this way, the process is best able to reach a proper conclusion as to the facts of what happened, and then remedial measures (sometimes including corrective action up to termination of the offender) can be put in place.
