Working without fear

Working without fear

Launch of the 2012 Sexual Harassment National Telephone Survey, Australian Human Rights Commission, Sydney

Elizabeth Broderick

Sex Discrimination Commissioner

30 October 2012

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Good morning and welcome to the Australian Human Rights Commission.

I am so pleased to be able to welcome you all to the launch of Working without Fear: Results of the Sexual Harassment National Telephone Survey 2012.

I am proud to be launching this report on the traditional lands of the Gadigal people of the Eora nation and I would like to take this opportunity to pay my respects to elders, past and present.

Working without Fear is the third sexual harassment national telephone survey conducted by the Australian Human Rights Commission.  The survey examines the prevalence, nature and reporting of sexual harassment in Australia, including in Australian workplaces.  It tracks national trends in sexual harassment across the lifetime of the survey, beginning with the first survey in 2003. 

The 2012 survey tells a very clear, but disturbing, story.  Sexual harassment remains a common and ongoing occurrence in Australia and particularly in Australian workplaces. There has been very little progress in addressing this serious human rights violation.

I want to take a few moments this morning to share some of the key findings of the 2012 survey.  But, before I do – a few words about the history and significance of the survey.

History and significance of the survey

The genesis of the sexual harassment national telephone survey began just over a decade ago. 

In 2002, the Commission undertook a review of complaints it had received about sexual harassment. It found that by far the vast majority of complaints emanated from the workplace.^[1]  It also found that sexual harassment presented particular challenges for women.

What the review didn’t examine, though, was unreported cases of workplace sexual harassment.  Those many instances of sexual harassment that occur in the workplace but are never formally reported. 

2003 National Survey

So, in 2003, my predecessor, Pru Goward, who I am delighted to say has joined us today, conducted Australia’s very first sexual harassment national telephone survey.^[2]  Thank you Pru for having the foresight in 2003 to understand that to address sexual harassment we had to name the problem and understand the magnitude of it. 

The only research of its kind, the 2003 National Survey set a benchmark to measure progress in the eradication of sexual harassment.  And, to this day, the national telephone survey provides the only national and trend data on sexual harassment in Australian workplaces.   

Perhaps the most concerning finding of that first 2003 survey was that sexual harassment was deeply embedded in many Australian workplace cultures, despite being unlawful under federal and state anti-discrimination laws.   

2008 National Survey

Following the 2003 survey, concerning evidence continued to emerge about the pervasiveness and harmful effects of sexual harassment in Australian workplaces. 

For example, it became very clear during my Listening Tour in 2008 that sexual harassment was a common problem in Australian workplaces, especially for women.  I remember attending a focus group of young women, less than 24 years of age, in South Australia where over half were able to recount a story of sexual harassment.  But when one woman said ‘Liz, if my uncle does it I know it’s not right but if it’s my boss or my manager, maybe that’s just the way work is and I have to get used to it!’, I knew that something needed to change and that it would take all of us. 

The many and deeply personal stories I heard as I travelled the length and breadth of the country convinced me that the ‘prevention of sexual harassment’ needed to be a key priority of my work as Sex Discrimination Commissioner.  Those same stories also reinforced for me the importance of repeating the telephone survey. 

My role was to lay bare the prevalence data and investigate the nature of sexual harassment in Australia so that all of us could work towards a solution.

So, in 2008, five years after the first survey was conducted, I initiated Australia’s second sexual harassment national telephone survey.^[3] 

I wanted to know whether there had been a significant reduction in the prevalence of sexual harassment.  I wanted to know whether awareness of sexual harassment had improved.  And I wanted to know whether reporting had increased.    

What the 2008 survey told us was that while there had been some improvements since the first survey, sexual harassment remained a problem in Australian workplaces.

2012 National Survey

Just this year, I repeated the survey for a third time.^[4] 

I felt that there was real value in continuing to collect robust and reliable evidence and to track trends.

I was also concerned – no, actually appalled - about the steady number of sexual harassment complaints being brought before the Commission.  But you don’t need to be the Sex Discrimination Commissioner to know that, even in 2012, sexual harassment continues to be a problem.  In fact, it seems that, recently, all you need to do is turn on the evening news or open a newspaper to know that no workplace is immune.  

The Review into the Treatment of Women in the Australian Defence Force Academy and Australian Defence Force (Defence Review) provided an opportunity to conduct a detailed industry-based analysis of sexual harassment.  For the first time, it allowed for comparisons to be made between sexual harassment in Australian workplaces in general and a specific industry – the Australian Defence Force (ADF).^[5] 

I want to take a moment to congratulate and thank the ADF for showing vision and leadership in participating in the survey.  It is not an easy thing to open oneself up to such intense scrutiny.  But they did this understanding that you can’t fix a problem you don’t know the magnitude of.

I hope that other industries will follow the ADF’s lead – particularly other male dominated industries, such as mining, construction, engineering, financial services.  Knowing the prevalence is surely the first step towards prevention! 

So, what did we learn about sexual harassment from the 2012 survey?

Sexual harassment in workplaces is common

We learned that sexual harassment is a persistent and pervasive problem in Australian workplaces, with approximately one in five (21%) people over the age of 15 sexually harassed in the workplace in the past five years.

Sexual harassment affects more women than men

We learned that sexual harassment continues to affect more women than men.  The survey found that a quarter (25%) of women and one in six (16%) men were sexually harassed in the workplace in the past five years.

The gender gap is even starker if we look at the results of the lifetime prevalence of sexual harassment.  One-third (33%) of women have been sexually harassed in their lifetime.  By contrast, less than one in ten (9%) men has been sexually harassed in their lifetime. 

The majority of harassers are men

From the survey, we learned that nearly four out of five (79%) harassers were men.  Ninety per cent (90%) of women were harassed by a man and 61% of men said they were harassed by a man.

Men harassing women accounted for the majority (56%) of all sexual harassment.  However, interestingly, male harassment of men is increasingly common. 

Formal reports of sexual harassment are low

Although sexual harassment is widespread in Australian workplaces, the survey shows that the majority of targets do not formally report harassment.  Only 20% of respondents who were sexually harassed in the workplace in the past five years formally reported the harassment.  This is a small increase in the rate of reporting from 2008 (16%) but it remains noticeably low.

This is in spite of the fact that formal reports or complaints of sexual harassment in the workplace were resolved quickly in most cases and with high or extremely high levels of satisfaction amongst the majority of complainants.  There may, however, be a correlation between the low rates of reporting and the significant number (29%) of people who reported they have experienced negative consequences as a result of making a formal report or complaint. 

A majority of bystanders take action

The news is not all bad, though.

One of the most interesting and promising findings of the survey is that over half (51%) of all bystanders – people who saw or later became aware of sexual harassment – took action to prevent or reduce the harm of sexual harassment.  And, in taking action, they helped to ensure safe work environments for themselves and their colleagues.  

When I saw this finding, I was reminded of a story of a woman I will call ‘Maria’.  Maria worked for a large company and found herself a target of sexual harassment.  Fearful of the consequences of reporting the harassment, Maria decided not to make a formal complaint to her employer.  Instead, she remained silent.

However, when Maria learned that the same man who had harassed her was harassing other women in her workplace, she decided she couldn’t stay silent any more.  She decided she had to take a stand and she reported the harassment to her employer. 

When Maria’s employer learned about what was going on in its workplace, it took swift action to put a stop to the behaviour.  It was concerned – as all employers should be – with ensuring a safe workplace where its employees can work without fear of sexual harassment.    

As Maria’s story shows, bystander intervention is a potentially invaluable component of sexual harassment prevention.  It is critical that we support and empower bystanders to take a stand against sexual harassment.   

This will require the development and implementation of a range of strategies, including education and training on bystander involvement, addressing the risks of victimisation to bystanders and supporting bystanders who do take action to prevent or respond to harassment.

Conclusion

We know that sexual harassment ruins lives, divides teams and damages organisational effectiveness.  So what needs to be done to make a real difference?

1. We need to focus on prevention strategies, including a highly visible community education campaign.
2. We need to improve access to workplace reporting mechanisms.
3. We need to arm a wide range of people in workplaces with the knowledge and skills to support and advise people who are experiencing sexual harassment.
4. As I said earlier, we need to encourage and empower bystanders to take immediate and effective action.
5. And, finally, we need more industry-based research on the prevalence, nature and reporting of sexual harassment.

All women and men must be able to work without fear. 

After all, being safe at work is a basic human right.  It is also a business imperative. 

That is why all of us – employees, employers, unions, employer associations and government – must work together and take a stand. 

We must ensure that sexual harassment has no place in Australian workplaces and that all of us – every one of us – can work without fear.

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Before I introduce our distinguished guest speakers, I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge and thank Gerry Bardsley and his team at Roy Morgan Research, who undertook the survey fieldwork on behalf of the Commission. 

Roy Morgan did a stellar job on this survey.  The team conducted interviews with just under 3,500 people in a matter of months.  They also navigated the complex and frequently urgent needs of the Defence Review and the National Survey.  And they stepped seamlessly into the middle of a longitudinal study of sexual harassment in Australian workplaces. 

Gerry, please accept my sincere thanks on behalf of the Commission for all your work on the survey.

I would now like to hand over to our distinguished guest speakers, who have very kindly joined us to help launch the results of the 2012 National Survey.  The fact that both employer organisations and unions are here today to take a stand against sexual harassment is testament to a shared view that sexual harassment and violence has no place in Australian workplaces. 

Our first speaker is Peter Anderson, the Chief Executive of the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI), and one of the leading thinkers in Australian business. 

Peter has agreed to say a few words about why sexual harassment is a serious issue for business and why it is important for them to be proactive in taking action to combat it.

Our second speaker is Linda White, the Vice President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions and the Assistant National Secretary of the Australian Services Union.

Drawing on her extensive union experience, Linda will talk briefly about what the 2012 survey means for unions and what can be done to ensure that workplaces are safe, productive and free of sexual harassment.   

Please join me in welcoming Peter and Linda.

Concluding remarks

Before we finish, I want to invite all of you here today to stand up against sexual harassment in the workplace. 

You can share your stories about standing up against sexual harassment on twitter using the hash tag (#) ‘workingwithoutfear’. 

You can tell your boss, your colleagues and your friends about the survey and why you think it is important that all of us are able to wake up in the morning and go to a workplace where we don’t live in fear of being sexually harassed. 

Whatever action you take, no matter how big or how small, will help to send a very clear message – sexual harassment is unlawful, it has no place in our workplaces, and no one should have to put up with it any longer.

Thank you.

 

For the full results and report on the 2012 National Survey, see Working without Fear.

 

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