Together with 100 other organisations, we’ve made a joint submission to the Australian Human Rights Commission inquiry into sexual harassment calling for urgent reforms to end sexual harassment in the workplace.
“Safer and more equal workplaces will benefit all Australians. But we still have a long way to go in the fight against harassment and gender inequality. We need women to feel they can speak out, and we need those with the power to help to step up.
“Change is possible, and governments, organisations, leaders within companies and individuals have the power to make this change happen.”
- Liberty Sanger, Principal, Board member and Chair of the Equal Workplaces Advisory Council Victoria
“The #metoo movement has given women a platform to blow the whistle on sexual harassment and assault. Together with an impressive array of investigative journalists, they have shone a powerful light on a persistently dark part of our culture, including the mistreatment of women in the workplace.
“It is early days, but it is to be hoped that this strong protest will produce meaningful change in the quest for true gender equality. In the Australian workplace, it must pave the way for a discussion on reforms needed to prevent harassment and to improve access to justice for all victims.”
- Josh Bornstein, National Head of Employment Law at Maurice Blackburn.
Make detailed notes as soon as you possibly can after the incident happens -- what happened, where and when it happened, and whether there were any witnesses. It’s important to get things down on paper as it will help in assessing the case and as often, people are so traumatised by such events that their memories fade.
However, not making detailed notes does not necessarily mean the complainant has no case. Lawyers can take a detailed statement from victims. A statement can also be made when making an application to the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC).
Report the incident to a manager or to the Human Resources department. Your employer should then properly and independently assess the allegations of sexual harassment and interview both the complainant and the alleged harasser. They should then form a view about the conduct, whether it was inappropriate and whether any disciplinary action should be taken.
This step is not compulsory but is strongly recommended, as making an internal complaint will help the AHRC know that the employer is on notice about the incident and will help them understand what steps, if any, an employer has taken to reduce the risk of sexual harassment in the workplace and deal with an individual’s complaint. In some circumstances, such as if the chief executive officer or managing director is the alleged perpetrator, you may have no choice but to go straight to the AHRC.
If reporting the incident internally fails to address your concerns or you don’t get the outcome you want, you could speak to your union or lawyer, and ultimately file a complaint with the AHRC.
“With the public attention that sexual harassment is getting, people are now coming forward who haven’t come forward in the past. We are seeing older allegations being aired by people that come to us and also publicly, as people feel that they can come forward and are not alone.
“The reason people will take more than six months to make a complaint is… they put up with it, they put up with it, they put up with it, they want their job, they’re scared that they’ll lose their job if they come forward, and then finally there will be some incident that is the straw that broke the camel’s back and they’ll feel like they might need help.”
- Alexandra Grayson, Principal of Employment Law at Maurice Blackburn