Sex harassment rife in 'a man's world', according to Human Rights Commission report
Four out of five victims of sexual harassment are women and those aged under 40 are the most likely targets.
WOMEN who speak out about sexual harassment at work are more likely
to be labelled troublemakers by their colleagues, become ostracised and,
in extreme cases, even demoted.
And the number of women who suffer harassment and make an official complaint has fallen as a result.
The
report, commissioned by the Human Rights Commission, found the number
of victims who suffer in the workplace after they complain has jumped
from 16 per cent to 29 per cent since 2003.
Four out of five victims of sexual harassment are women and those aged under 40 are the most likely targets.
The
report found that while more than one in five are now subjected to
harassment only 20 per cent make a formal complaint and the number of
women who confront their harasser has also fallen.
Women working
in health and community services, accommodation, cafe and restaurants,
retail and education are most likely to suffer some form of sexual
harassment.
The most common types of sexual harassment include sexually
suggestive comments or jokes, inappropriate leering or staring,
intrusive questions about physical appearance and sexually explicit
emails or text messages.
The report also showed the number of men
who have been harassed by other men has risen from 7 per cent in 2003 to
23 per cent today.
Sex Discrimination Commissioner Elizabeth
Broderick said progress in addressing workplace sexual harassment "has
stalled in this country."
"Compounding this concern are the
findings that a number of people are bystanders to incidents of sexual
harassment in the workplace, and understanding about sexual harassment
remains limited, with only marginal improvements in understanding since
the 2008 survey," she said.
"Until a critical mass of people speak
up about sexual harassment we wont get the cultural change that is
necessary to eradicate it from the organisational landscape.
"We must make it safe for them to speak out and at the minute our research shows were still not at that point."
"I wouldn't characterise Australia as a sexist country, but there is pockets of sexism that exist in 2012.
"If
you look at workplaces its a man's world. It doesn't matter what sector
you look at, the leadership levels will be dominated by men.
"It's
got to be about a community belief that men and women are equal in all
aspects of public life. Sexual harassment is about power."
High-profile
sexual harassment cases involving text messages and email - such as
those involving former speaker Peter Slipper (who denies any wrongdoing)
and former David Jones employee Kristy Fraser-Kirk - appear to have
helped stall cyber harassment.
People who reported receiving
sexually explicit emails or text messages dropped from 22 per cent to 17
per cent between 2008 and 2012.
Employment law expert and Maurice
Blackburn Lawyers principal Giri Sivaraman said workplaces can have all
the policies in the world, but if there is no change in the culture
from the chief executive down, then the problem will persist.
"I seem to have seen more and more victims of sexual harassment over the last few years, he said.
"It
can involve sometimes really senior female employees that are victims
of harassment, sometimes even senior executives. Often in those
circumstances the alleged perpetrator is the most senior person in the
organisation.
"There are protections in the (Sex Discrimination
Act) and the law for people who make complaints in the workplace. Thats
important for people to know. Protection is important when there is a
huge power imbalance between you and the perpetrator.
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