Chapter 4: The nature of sexual harassment in Australian workplaces- Sexual harassment: Serious business

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Sexual harassment: Serious business

Chapter 4: The
nature of sexual harassment in Australian workplaces

Contents

4 The nature of sexual harassment in Australian workplaces
4.1 Introduction
4.2 Types of sexual harassment
4.3 Number of types of harassment experienced
4.4 Gender differences in types of harassment
4.5 Duration of sexual harassment
4.6 The duration of sexual harassment and the types of harassment
4.7 Severity of harassment
4.8 Observation of other sexual harassment incidents in the same workplace
4.9 Gender of harasser and target
4.10 Characteristics of the target of sexual harassment

(a) Age
(b) Ethnicity of target of sexual harassment
(c) Occupation of target
(d) Employment status of target
(e) Length of employment

4.11 Characteristics of the harasser

(a) Age of harasser
(b) Harasser’s relationship to target

4.12 Characteristics of the
workplace

(a) Employer size
(b) Industry

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4.1 Introduction

I’ve been living [in these work quarters] for three years and
I’ve had knocks on my door at night with guys saying, “Guess
you’re feeling a bit lonely, love?” It shouldn’t happen.
I’ve been sitting with a group of males and one will ask,
“Don’t you think it’s my turn [for sex]
tonight?”^[31]

Understanding and monitoring the nature of sexual harassment is vital to
developing appropriate responses and prevention strategies. Examining the nature
of sexual harassment includes looking at how the sexual harassment manifests in
the workplace. This includes the types and duration of harassment; who
experiences sexual harassment; who the harassers are and the feature of
workplaces where it happens.

In the 2003 and 2008 national telephone surveys, the respondents who reported
experiencing sexual harassment in the workplace in the last five
years^[32] were asked a number of
additional questions to track trends and patterns in the nature of sexual
harassment.

This section provides an analysis of the nature of sexual harassment in the
workplace including the characteristics of the sexual harassment,
characteristics of the target of sexual harassment, characteristics of the
harasser and characteristics of the workplace where the sexual harassment
happened.The section also reports on significant trends between the
2003 and 2008 national telephone surveys relating to the nature of sexual
harassment.

4.2 Types
of sexual
harassment^[33]

Respondents were asked whether they had experienced the following types of
behaviours:

• Physical harassment
  1. unwelcome touching, hugging, cornering or kissing
  2. inappropriate physical contact
  1. actual or attempted rape or assault.
• Non-physical harassment
  
  1. inappropriate staring or leering
  2. repeated or inappropriate advances on email, social networking websites or
     internet chat rooms by a work colleague (not asked in
     2003)
  1. repeated or inappropriate invitations to go out on
     dates
  1. intrusive questions about your private life or physical appearance that make
     you feel offended
  2. sexually suggestive comments or jokes that make you feel offended
  3. sexually explicit pictures, posters or gifts that make you feel
     offended
  4. sexually explicit emails or SMS message
  5. requests or pressure for sex or other sexual
     acts.

Overall, the majority of sexual harassment
experienced in the last five years involved non-physical sexual harassment
(69%), which represents a statistically significant increase from 38% in 2003.

In 2003, the majority (62%) of those who experienced sexual harassment in the
last five years experienced some type of physical harassment. There has been a
statistically significant decrease in this figure to 31% in the 2008 national
telephone survey.

However, it should be noted that these changes may be attributed to the
change in the survey methodology for the second wave of interviews. For
instance, those who said they did not experience workplace sexual
harassment in the last five
years^[34], were likely to go on and
report they had experienced non-physical sexual harassment behaviours.
Those who said they did experience sexual harassment in the workplace in
the last five years, were more likely to report experiencing physical sexual harassment behaviours.

These results suggest that a significant portion of respondents do not
perceive or understand that non-physical sexual harassment behaviours
such as sexually suggestive comments or intrusive questions may constitute
sexual harassment. The results also suggest that those who experience physical
behaviours such as unwelcome hugging, cornering or kissing are more likely to
identify such behaviours as sexual harassment.

With respect to specific behaviours, in the 2008 national telephone survey,
the most common type of behaviour was sexually suggestive comments or jokes that
made respondents feel offended (56%).

Around one in three targets reported being subjected to physical types of
sexual harassment including inappropriate physical contact, unwelcome touching,
hugging, cornering or kissing or actual or attempted rape or assault.

Over one in five respondents who experienced workplace sexual harassment in
the last five years were subject to sexually explicit emails and SMS messages.
This indicates that the increased use of technology in the workplace may be
adding a new dimension to the nature of sexual harassment in the workplace. As
such, employers need to develop comprehensive guidelines to set out appropriate
and inappropriate use of new technologies.

The prevalence of non-physical sexual harassment highlights the need for
employers to clearly communicate to employees that conduct such as inappropriate
emails, SMS messages, sexually suggestive comments or jokes and unwelcome
intrusive questions may all amount to sexual harassment under the law. Effective
prevention of workplace sexual harassment involves employers taking steps to
create a workplace culture where no type of sexual harassment is tolerated.

4.3 Number
of types of harassment experienced

On average, targets of sexual harassment experienced two types of behaviours
that may amount to sexual harassment. However, those who experienced any type of physical sexual harassment were likely to experience more than four
behaviours, and sometimes up to seven types of behaviours. This suggests that
physical harassment is often part of a set of other types of sexual harassment
behaviours. Physical sexual harassment may also be the culmination of an
escalating set of behaviours beginning with non-physical sexual harassment.

4.4 Gender
differences in types of harassment

There are some differences in the types of harassment experienced according
to gender. Women are more likely to experience physical sexual harassment such
as inappropriate physical contact, unwelcome touching, hugging, cornering or
kissing, compared to men. Of those who experienced workplace sexual harassment
in the last five years, 35% of women experienced some kind of physical
harassment, compared to 25% of men.

Men were more likely to experience exclusively non-physical types of sexual
harassment such as sexually explicit pictures, posters or gifts that made them
feel offended or sexually explicit emails or SMS messages. Of those who
experienced workplace sexual harassment in the last five years, 75% of men
experienced non-physical sexual harassment exclusively, compared to 65% of
women.

Table 1 Types of sexual harassment behaviours experienced

4.5 Duration of
sexual harassment

There was a significant increase in the number of respondents who described
their sexual harassment as a one-off incident between the 2003 and 2008 surveys.
In 2008, 39% of respondents said that their sexual harassment was a one off
incident, compared to 15% in 2003.

Overall, the 2008 national telephone survey found that sexual harassment was
less likely to last for more than one month compared to 2003.

Two new categories to measure the duration of sexual harassment were added to
this question in the 2008 survey: ongoing and sporadic. Ongoing sexual
harassment refers to incidents that have had an indeterminate duration. Sporadic
sexual harassment refers to incidents that have stopped and started over a
period of time. Around one in five targets said their sexual harassment was
ongoing or sporadic.

4.6 The duration of
sexual harassment and the types of harassment

In the 2008 national telephone survey, there was a difference in the duration
depending on whether the sexual harassment involved physical sexual harassment
or non-physical sexual harassment only. Respondents who experienced physical
sexual harassment were more likely to say the harassment went on for more than
one month. For those who experienced non-physical sexual harassment only, it was
more likely to be a one-off incident. This again suggests that physical sexual
harassment is often the culmination of an escalating pattern of behaviours
beginning with non-physical harassment. For employers, this indicates that
effectively and quickly responding to non-physical harassment may often be
effective in preventing an escalation to physical sexual harassment.

4.7 Severity of
harassment

One of the legal tests of sexual harassment under the Sex Discrimination
Act 1984 (Cth) is whether a reasonable person would anticipate that the
person targeted would feel offended, humiliated or intimidated by the
behaviour.^[35]

The level of severity of the harassment was measured by asking respondents
how intimidated and offended they felt on a five point scale, with five being
extremely intimidated/offended and one being not at all
intimidated/offended.

The average score for feeling intimidated was slightly less in 2008
(2.7) compared to 2003 (3.0). The average score for feeling offended was
3.2 in the 2008 survey, again slightly less compared to 3.5 in the 2003.

Similar to the 2003 survey, on average, respondents felt more offended than
intimidated by the harassment. In 2008, 40% felt very or extremely offended by
the harassment, compared to 29% of respondents who felt very or extremely
intimidated.

In 2008, the more offended or intimidated a respondent felt increased the
probability of reporting the harassment. Of those who formally reported the
sexual harassment, over two thirds were very or extremely offended and half were
very or extremely intimidated. Consistent with the 2003 national telephone
survey, this suggests that those who experience a more severe impact from sexual
harassment are more likely to make a formal report.

Looking at the severity and types of sexual harassment experienced, those who
experienced some kind of physical harassment were likely to be more offended and
intimidated by the experience than those who experienced non-physical
harassment. In terms of gender breakdown, women are likely to feel more offended
and intimidated by sexual harassment, compared to men.

4.8 Observation of
other sexual harassment incidents in the same workplace

The results of the 2008 survey indicate that there may be pockets of sexual
harassment across workplaces. Nearly half of those who had been sexually
harassed in the last five years reported that it has happened to someone else in
the same workplace (47%). This number represents a decrease from 58% since
2003.

Of those who reported that others in their workplace experienced sexual
harassment, 39% said it was common, 32% said that it occurred sometimes, 21%
said it was rare and 8% said it was very rare.

Employees of large and medium organisations were more likely to observe other
incidents of sexual harassment in the same workplace, compared to employees of
small business.^[36]

There are two possible explanations for this result. Firstly, there may be
one harasser who targets a number of individuals in the workplace. Secondly, the
workplace may have a culture that tolerates sexual harassment or where sexual
harassment is entrenched. It cannot be determined from the survey results
whether the harassment was from the same harasser or whether there are a number
of different harassers. This is an area that warrants further research.

4.9 Gender of
harasser and target

The 2008 national telephone survey found that 81% of harassers are male. The
majority of sexual harassment involved a male harasser and female target (62%),
a small decrease since 2003 (72%).

The second most common type of sexual harassment involved a male harasser and
male target (18%), a small but statistically significant increase from 7% in
2003. The sexual harassment complaints received by the Commission involving
male harassers and male targets suggests that this type of harassment most
commonly takes place in male-dominated work environments where the targets are
perceived to be different in some way from the dominant group in the work place.
These differences may be based on the target’s age or race or perceptions
about their sexuality or masculinity.

Sexual harassment involving female harassers and male targets was reported by
15% of respondents, a slight decrease from 19% in 2003.

4.10 Characteristics
of the target of sexual harassment

(a) Age

Both the 2003 and 2008 national telephone surveys did not ask respondents
their age at the time they were sexually harassed. For this reason, it is
difficult to ascertain the age of targets. Women who reported experiencing
workplace sexual harassment in the last five years were most likely to be aged
25-44 and male respondents are most likely to be aged 35-44. Respondents may be
between one to five years younger than their reported age at the time they
experienced sexual harassment in the workplace.

Some studies on sexual harassment have found that young women are more likely
to experience sexual harassment in the
workplace.^[37] The vulnerability of
young women to sexual harassment in early employment was also raised as an issue
during the Sex Discrimination Commissioner’s Listening Tour.

It should be noted that this national telephone survey did not interview
people under the age of 18 because it would require consent from a parent or
guardian. Given that a significant number of Australians enter the paid
workforce under the age of 18 and the literature suggests that they may be
particularly vulnerable to sexual harassment, this is an area that warrants
further research.

(b) Ethnicity
of target of sexual harassment

In the 2008 national telephone survey, English was reported as the main
language spoken at home for the large majority (94%) of targets of sexual
harassment. However, it should be noted that the national telephone survey
methodology does advantage respondents with better English skills. As such,
sexual harassment against people of culturally and linguistically diverse
backgrounds is an area that this survey is unable to adequately address because
the research methodology had reduced access to those who speak a language other
than English as their main
language.^[38]

Given this limitation of the methodology, it cannot be concluded that those
who speak English as their main language at home are more likely to experience
sexual harassment in the workplace than those who do not. This is an area that
warrants targeted research.

(c) Occupation
of target

In the 2008 national telephone survey, targets of sexual harassment were most
likely to be a professional worker (31%) or a clerical worker (19%). These were
also the most common occupational types for targets of sexual harassment in the
2003 survey. However, there was a statistically significant rise in the number
of professional workers and a slight decrease (not statistically significant) in
the number of clerical workers between 2003 and 2008.

The number of respondents who were sales workers decreased from 15% to 5%
between 2003 and 2008, which may be explained by the decrease in the number of
respondents who said they worked in the retail industry at the time of
harassment.^[39]

It is difficult to draw conclusions from this occupational data as the
prevalence of sexual harassment in certain occupations may also be due to:

• the higher numbers of women who work in particular occupations and
  their greater likelihood of being subjected to sexual harassment; or
• the gender composition of particular occupations which has been
  found to be a contributing factor to sexual
  harassment.^[40]

The
results should be interpreted with caution as the sample was not representative
across occupation types.

Table 2: Occupation of the target at the time of sexual harassment [Note that due to changes in the ANZSCO classifications since the 2003
national telephone survey full comparisons with the occupations of all employed
Australians are not possible]

(d) Employment
status of target

In the 2008 national telephone survey, the majority of those who experienced
workplace sexual harassment in the last five years were working full-time (68%)
at the time of harassment, which is a slightly less than the proportion of
employed people working full-time in the general population
(72%).^[43]

Around 32% were working part-time, compared to 28% of the general population
who are employed part-time.^[44] Of
those working part-time (32%), 44% were permanent and 46% were casual.

(e) Length
of employment

While some
studies^[45] have found that those
who experience sexual harassment tend to do so earlier in their employment
tenure (within the first 12 months), the 2008 national telephone survey suggests
that sexual harassment occurs across the range of employment tenures.

Approximately 35% of respondents had been employed less than 12 months when
the sexual harassment occurred, 26% had been employed for between 1-3 years and
39% over three years. These findings are similar to 2003.

4.11 Characteristics
of the harasser

(a) Age
of harasser

Similar to 2003, around two-thirds of harassers were men over the age of 30
and 46% men over the age of 40. Given the small numbers of female harassers (20%
of all harassers), it is difficult to draw conclusions about the age of female
harassers. The majority of female harassers (13% of all harassers) were aged
between 31 and 50.

(b) Harasser’s
relationship to target

Similar to the finding in the 2003 survey, half the targets reported their
harasser to be a co-worker. Around one in ten targets said they were harassed by
a more senior co-worker, a rise from 2% in 2003.

Contrary to common assumptions that sexual harassment predominantly occurs
between a manager/employer and employee, the 2008 survey shows a decrease in the
number of managers or employers identified as harassers.

The relatively substantial proportion of sexual harassment from co-workers,
either senior or at the same level may be indicative a certain workplace
cultures where sexual harassment is permitted. Another possible explanation
could be the assumption amongst employees that sexual harassment between
co-workers is acceptable in contrast to sexual harassment between a manager and
an employee.

Close to one in ten respondents reported that their harasser was a client or
customer, which is similar to 2003. This finding supports the need for better
legal protection for employees against sexual harassment from clients.

There were no significant differences in the harasser’s relationship to
the target based on whether the target was male or female.

Harasser’s relationship to the target

4.12 Characteristics of the
workplace

(a) Employer
size

For those who experienced sexual harassment in the last five years, there was
an even spread of employer size: 39% large employers, 30% medium employers and
31% small employers. This indicates that sexual harassment occurs across all
employer sizes.

Compared to 2003, there was a slight increase in respondents who were
employed in large and medium workplaces at the time of harassment and a slight
decrease of small employers. In the 2003 national telephone survey, of those who
experienced workplace sexual harassment in the last five years, 37% said they
were employed by a large employer, 25% reported a medium employer and 38% a
small employer.

These results should be interpreted with caution as the sample was not
representative of employer sizes. That is, the sample was not selected to
reflect the Australian population by their employer size.

(b) Industry

In the 2008 national telephone survey, the top three industries identified by
respondents who experienced sexual harassment in the last five years were:
health and community services (14%), education (12%) and accommodation, cafes
and restaurants (10%).

Retail was the most common industry in the 2003 survey (16%) and decreased to
8% in the 2008 survey.

While these industries provide some insight into the industries in which
sexual harassment is happening, particularly over the last five years, it is
important that these results be viewed in the context of organisational factors
that may influence the prevalence of sexual harassment.

For instance, some research suggests that it is the workplace cultures and
the perceived and/or real tolerance of sexual harassment in an organisation that
has the greatest impact on the behaviour of individual
employees.^[46] Other research
suggests that the status of the specific role or occupation of the target of
harassment and the power differentials between levels in the workplace as risk
factors.^[47] Recent research
conducted in Victoria has shown that employment status, particularly precarious
employment types such as casual and temporary employment, increases the
likelihood of experiencing sexual
harassment.^[48]

This suggests that sexual harassment is not necessarily a characteristic of a
specific industry but circumstances of employment and the particular workplace
structure or culture.

These results should be interpreted with caution as the population sample was
not representative by industry. That is, the sample was not selected to reflect
the Australian population by the industry they work in.

Table 3: Industry of target at time of harassment