WARNING: THIS WEBSITE MENTIONS SEXUAL HARASSMENT. IF YOU ARE TRIGGERED BY ANY OF THIS CONTENT AND ARE LOOKING FOR SUPPORT, CLICK HERE

WARNING: THIS WEBSITE MENTIONS SEXUAL HARASSMENT. IF YOU ARE TRIGGERED BY ANY OF THIS CONTENT AND ARE LOOKING FOR SUPPORT, CLICK HERE

Fast facts on sexual harassment in the workplace

According to the Australian Human Rights Commission’s fifth national survey on sexual harassment in Australian workplaces, in the five years preceding 2022:

 

77% of Australians aged 15 or older have experienced sexual harassment at some point in their lives (89% of women and 64% of men).

 

The most common types of workplace sexual harassment experienced in the last 5 years were:

  • Sexually suggestive comments or jokes (27%)
  • Intrusive questions about a person’s private life or physical appearance (23%)
  • Inappropriate staring or leering that made them feel intimidated (19%)
  • Unwelcome touching, hugging, cornering or kissing (19%)
  • Inappropriate physical contact (19%).

 

Fewer than 1 in 5 (18%) made a formal report or complaint about sexual harassment at work.

 

2 in 5 (40%) who made a formal report or complaint said that no changes occurred at their workplace as a result.

 

People who reported sexual harassment experienced negative consequences, including being ostracised, victimised or ignored by colleagues (13%), resigning (13%) or being labelled a troublemaker (12%).

 

Only a third of Australian workers think their organisation is doing enough to combat sexual harassment.

 

More than a third of people (37%) believe their organisations should be doing more to prevent and address sexual harassment. 

 

38% of sexual harassment occurred at work stations. 

 

Close to 50% of young people (15 – 29 year-olds), experience sexual harassment. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People, those living with disability and people with diverse sexual orientations, gender identities, or gender expressions are also more likely to experience sexual harassment. 

 

On top of the devasting impacts to individuals, Deloitte Access Economics estimated sexual harassment cost the Australian economy $3.8 billion in 2018. 

When we talk about women, we include anyone who identifies as a woman. 

Thanks to MinterEllison for their generous pro bono support for content and Mahlab for website development.

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Chief Executive Women acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their Elders past and present, and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. We especially recognise the women who have been the strength of their communities for thousands of years.

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We need to set the tone and lead from the top. With this in mind, here are examples of some things we should never say or accept from others:

  • A bullying and harassment policy should be enough to deal with sexual harassment and related inappropriate conduct.
  • We have low report rates of sexual harassment and related inappropriate conduct, so it’s not a problem at this organisation.
  • We have a reporting hotline which is well publicised, but we don’t get many calls about sexual harassment or related inappropriate conduct, so it’s not an issue here.
  • I have been in this industry for decades and I have never seen it, so it mustn’t be happening.
  • That’s the remit of our HR team. If there were ever a big issue, they would escalate it to us.
  • Our staff engagement scores are terrific and there is no indication of there being a sexual harassment problem here. That means we’re doing enough.
 
Most cultural issues aren’t hiding in plain sight. Often, it’s the things that aren’t being talked about that we need to be concerned about. Research tells us that sexual harassment is common and that it’s significantly under reported. In fact, increased reporting can indicate greater psychological safety and a culture of trust that the organisation takes sexual harassment seriously. We have a positive duty to prevent sexual harassment and related inappropriate conduct, and to continuously assess and evaluate whether we are meeting the requirements of the duty. 
 

We need to ensure our people feel safe to come forward and report instances of sexual harassment or related inappropriate conduct in the workplace. The only way they’ll do this is if they can see that leadership takes this issue seriously.

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We take the health and wellbeing of our people very seriously. We work hard to improve our safety outcomes and reduce injuries, and overall we do a good job of preventing physical harm to our people.

As we have seen in many other organisations, sexual harassment is more prevalent than a lot of people think. This represents a real risk to keeping people safe in the workplace, and to our people’s wellbeing and productivity.

It can also cause significant damage to our reputation, our brand as an employer of choice, lost business, and to our corporate standing. If we fail to take steps to address this conduct, we may be subject to enforcement action and/or civil penalties. Our organisation may also be held liable for inappropriate conduct committed by our employees unless we took all reasonable steps to prevent the conduct occurring. 

We need to make it crystal clear to everyone in the organisation that we have zero tolerance for any form of sexual harassment. We will always take appropriate action when sexual harassment or related inappropriate conduct occurs. We seek to prevent these unlawful behaviours and to have a zero-harm workplace. We welcome the new Australian positive duty placed on organisations by the Anti-Discrimination and Human Rights Legislation Amendment (Respect at Work) Act 2022 and commit to implementing its provisions in a timely fashion and demonstrating our leadership. 

We need to treat sexual harassment and related inappropriate conduct risks as we would any other physical or psychological risk in the workplace. We already have existing systems and processes in place for identifying and mitigating workplace health and safety risks and hazards, and for defining our desired safe and respectful culture. 

We need to embed these sexual harassment response frameworks into our existing risk reporting practices and organisational culture, so all forms of sexual harassment and related misconduct are eradicated.

We can’t afford to wait on this; we need to act urgently. 

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Sexual harassment is any unwelcome sexual advance, request for sexual favours or other conduct of a sexual nature. It’s not only a human rights issue, which is unlawful under the Sex Discrimination Act, but also a workplace health and safety (WHS) risk which can cause significant psychological, physical, reputational and financial harm.

Existing systems and processes for managing WHS risks and hazards should be used to eliminate the risks and control the likelihood of sexual harassment occurring in the workplace.

Board members and senior executives have a duty to address this. Everyone deserves to work in a safe, respectful and inclusive environment. Respect is everyone’s business.

Sexual harassment is any unwelcome sexual advance, request for sexual favours or other conduct of a sexual nature. It’s not only a human rights issue, which is unlawful under the Sex Discrimination Act, but also a workplace health and safety (WHS) risk which can cause significant psychological, physical, reputational and financial harm.

Existing systems and processes for managing WHS risks and hazards should be used to eliminate the risks and control the likelihood of sexual harassment occurring in the workplace.

Board members and senior executives have a duty to address this. Everyone deserves to work in a safe, respectful and inclusive environment. Respect is everyone’s business.