An international training charity approached ICENA following an incident of sexual harassment involving a member of senior management. The organisation had acted decisively: the incident was addressed, and the individual concerned was no longer employed. However, senior leaders recognised that responding to the incident was only the first step. They were committed to learning from what had happened and taking proactive, preventative measures to reduce the risk of future harm.
The organisation operates across multiple locations with a dispersed, largely frontline workforce delivering training in varied and sometimes unpredictable environments. This created a particular challenge. Leaders needed a way to ensure consistent expectations, safe cultures, and confident leadership despite staff working in different sites, on different schedules, and often without day-to-day managerial contact.
Prior to engaging ICENA, the organisation had already taken important steps, including developing new policies and training Mental Health First Aiders to provide trusted routes for disclosure. They now wanted to go further and embed a consistent, trauma-informed approach to preventing and responding to sexual harassment across all sites and staff groups.
Senior leaders were clear that managers needed to feel equipped and confident to:
- Respond to disclosures in a trauma-informed, sensitive and timely way.
- Challenge and call out problematic behaviours, including subtle or cumulative patterns.
- Address inappropriate behaviour by colleagues or third parties.
- Demonstrate that sexual harassment would always be taken seriously and acted upon.
They sought specialist support to embed these expectations within a complex, multi-location organisation.
ICENA’s Solution
1. Tailored, Trauma-Informed Manager Training
ICENA worked closely with the organisation to design and deliver bespoke sexual harassment training for managers. The training reflected the realities of the organisation’s operating model, including dispersed teams, varied working environments and the practical pressures of frontline roles.
Four live virtual training sessions were delivered, ensuring managers from all locations could access consistent, high-quality learning regardless of where they were based. The content focused on:
- Understanding sexual harassment in the workplace, including less obvious behaviours.
- Trauma-informed approaches to disclosures.
- Practical guidance on responding when someone discloses.
- Strategies for challenging behaviour in frontline or externally facing contexts.
- Leadership responsibility and the importance of visible commitment to prevention.
Sessions were interactive and reflective, allowing managers to explore scenarios directly relevant to their own working environments.
2. Organisation-Wide eLearning and Interactive Workbook
Due to the nature of frontline delivery roles, it was not feasible to offer live training to all staff. To ensure consistent learning for colleagues working across multiple locations and varied schedules, ICENA developed a bespoke eLearning programme and accompanying interactive workbook.
This approach supported long-term cultural embedding by:
- Allowing colleagues to complete training when they felt resourced and ready.
- Providing durable content that can be integrated into induction and refresher programmes.
- Encouraging deeper reflection through workbook activities focused on real-world application.
This created a sustainable foundation for embedding expectations and reinforcing a culture of challenge, accountability and care.
3. Additional Training Sessions Scheduled Following Positive Feedback
Following the success of the initial rollout, the organisation requested further sessions. Two additional manager training dates were scheduled later in the year to support new starters and those unable to attend the earlier sessions.
Positioning these sessions separately enabled the organisation to:
- Continue investing in leadership capability.
- Maintain consistent standards over time.
- Scale training in line with organisational growth.
Impact and Outcomes
Post-training evaluations demonstrated clear and measurable impact:
- 50% increase in knowledge of responding to and preventing sexual harassment.
- 100% of participants reported feeling empowered.
- Training scored 5 out of 5 for ICENA’s delivery.
- 96% of participants rated the trainer as “great”.
Managers reported increased confidence in:
- Responding to disclosures in a trauma-informed way.
- Challenging behaviours early and appropriately.
- Understanding their role in shaping culture.
- Recognising the impact of silence or inaction on team safety.
Participants valued the practical, scenario-based approach and its relevance to their varied operational contexts across multiple locations.
Feedback Highlights
What Managers said about the training:
‘I usually find it difficult to learn virtually, but this training was very engaging and the facilitator was excellent.’
‘The mix of interactive sessions and written information was great. I really appreciated being given the opportunity to engage in a way that worked for me, rather than being forced to talk in a large group.’
‘The whole training was very useful and enjoyable – the mix of slides and breakouts worked and I now feel confident to address and deal with sexual harassment.’
Ongoing Commitment to Prevention
This work represents a significant step in the organisation’s ongoing commitment to preventing harm and strengthening staff safety. Through tailored manager training, accessible organisation-wide eLearning and a design grounded in trauma-informed principles, the charity is embedding a culture of confidence, accountability and consistency across a dispersed workforce.
With additional sessions already underway and a long-term eLearning system now in place, the organisation continues to build safer pathways for staff and reinforce a culture where sexual harassment is recognised, challenged and prevented at every level.
