Safe Workspaces training and policy support
Training on sexual harassment and abuse, gender based violence, alcohol and gender policy for NGOs, donor funded programmes and corporate employers in Kenya and across Africa.
Why these four topics belong together
A quarter of people in work in Africa have experienced violence or harassment at work, and half of those harassed tell no one. Alcohol often plays a part. In all 14 sub Saharan countries in one major study, a partner's drinking raised the odds that a woman experienced violence at home.
Harassment, abuse, violence and substance use rarely sit apart. They grow in the same silence, and staff need the same skills to deal with them: noticing what is happening, starting a difficult conversation and knowing where to send someone for help.
For NGOs there is a further reason. Donors want to see that partners can keep staff and communities safe, with a policy, trained staff and a reporting route that works.
Safe Workspaces brings this together. You can run a single session, or combine all four into a wellbeing and safety series.
Sources: ILO, Lloyd's Register Foundation and Gallup, 2022. Cambridge Prisms Global Mental Health, 2017. WHO global status report on alcohol, 2024.
The four programmes
Respect at Work
Respect at Work covers the prevention of sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment. Staff and managers learn to recognise harassment, step in safely and support a colleague. The full day adds more practice and deeper work on digital harassment and power.
The reporting channels session helps leaders and HR set up confidential routes for complaints, an investigation committee and response guidelines. The programme draws on 18 African workplace scenarios and 12 investigation templates.
Gender policy
A gender policy only works if people use it. We start by reviewing what you have, consulting staff and mapping how power works in your organisation. We then draft a policy that fits your sector and the law, train leaders and staff to apply it, and help you set a budget and name focal persons to keep it alive.
Brenda wrote the gender and equal treatment policies used across a regional organisation and coached partners to adopt their own.
Alcohol and gender based violence
This session explains the link between drinking and violence, and why alcohol is never an excuse for it. Participants practise responding to a disclosure: listen, believe and refer. They leave with a map of local routes to a helpline, clinic, shelter and HR focal point.
Beneath the Surface
Beneath the Surface covers alcohol, drugs and mental health at work. It looks at what substance use costs the workplace and the family, how to start a conversation with a colleague, and practical steps people can take for themselves.
It also covers what employers can do, from policy and support to return to work, and the value of care that keeps people close to family and community.
Also available
A 45 to 60 minute talk on men's wellbeing and respect at work, for staff, leaders and boards, and a full day GESI workshop for programme teams and partners.
Policies and reporting structures
Training works best when the policies behind it are clear. We write new policies, review existing ones and update them to match your practice, your funders and the law. We start from what you have.
- Protection from sexual exploitation and abuse policy, code of conduct and reporting structure
- Sexual harassment policy with clear complaint and investigation steps
- Gender equality policy
- Alcohol and substance use policy covering prevention, help seeking, confidentiality and return to work
What a session feels like
People learn by doing. Most of each session is spent on role plays, games and group work. Participants guess the facts before they see them, practise hard conversations in a safe setting, and talk through what they noticed.
Every session ends with each participant committing to one specific action, written in their own plan.
Safety is built in. There are content notes before every scenario, a no touch rule in role plays, and passing is always allowed. A disclosure protocol and a local referral map mean nobody is left alone with what they share.
Common questions
What does PSEAH stand for?
Protection from Sexual Exploitation, Abuse and Harassment. Many donors expect partners to have a PSEAH policy, a code of conduct, trained staff and a working reporting channel.
Is the training aligned with Kenyan law?
Yes. Respect at Work aligns with the Employment Act 2007 section 6, the Sexual Offences Act, ILO Convention 190 and UN standards on protection from sexual exploitation and abuse. In Kenya, employers with 20 or more employees must issue a written sexual harassment policy after consulting staff.
Can you train staff in other countries?
Yes. Brenda has worked across East, West and Southern Africa. We adapt scenarios and referral maps to the law and services in each country.
How do you keep participants safe in sensitive sessions?
Content notes before every scenario, a no touch rule in role plays, the right to pass at any time, and a disclosure protocol with a local referral map, so nobody is left alone with what they share.
How much does training cost?
It depends on the programme, the format and the number of participants. Book a free call and we will send a quote.
Start with a short discovery conversation
Tell us which of the four programmes is most urgent for your people.