Chapter 5 - Working without fear: Results of the Sexual Harassment National Telephone Survey (2012)
Sex Discrimination
Working without fear:
Results of the Sexual Harassment National Telephone Survey
- Back to Contents
- Foreword
- Abbreviations
- Chapter 1: Executive summary
- Chapter 2: Sexual harassment national telephone survey 2012
- Chapter 3: Sexual harassment
- Chapter 4: Prevalence
- Chapter 5: Nature and characteristics
- Chapter 6: Prevention and response
- How to make a complaint and get more information
- Endnotes
- Appendix 1: 2012 National Survey questionnaire
- Figures
Chapter 5: Nature and characteristics
Chapter 5 examines the nature and characteristics of sexual harassment in Australian workplaces over the past five years. It analyses the type and duration of sexual harassment and the impact of sexual harassment on people harassed. It also identifies common characteristics of targets and harassers (eg sex, age) as well as the characteristics of workplaces where sexual harassment was reported.
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Key findings
Sexual harassment consists of a broad range of behaviours and occurs through
a range of different mediums
Most sexual harassment was perpetrated by men against women
Men were more likely than women to perpetrate and be targets of same-sex sexual harassment
Young adults were most affected by sexual harassment
Harassers were most likely to be a co-worker of the person harassed
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5.1 Nature of sexual harassment
Sexual harassment consists of a broad range of behaviours, physical and non-physical, and occurs through a variety of different mediums (eg in person, through social media). In addition, it may be a one-off incident or consist of a course of behaviour and it may affect the people harassed in different ways.
Notwithstanding the different experiences of individual targets of sexual harassment, the 2012 National Survey shows that the most common types of sexual harassment behaviours are sexually suggestive comments or jokes, intrusive questions about one’s private life or physical appearance, and inappropriate staring or leering. It also shows that sexual harassment is more likely to be a one-off incident or to occur over a short period of time, rather than to take place over a sustained period. Further, the more offended or intimidated a person feels when they are sexually harassed, the more likely they are to decide to make a formal report or complaint about the harassment.
(a) Type
As explained previously, all respondents were asked to identify whether or not they had experienced a number of behaviours that are likely to constitute sexual harassment under the Sex Discrimination Act.23
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Unwanted sexual attention
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Unwelcome touching, hugging, cornering or kissing
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Inappropriate staring or leering that made you feel intimidated
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Repeated or inappropriate invitations to go out on dates
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Repeated or inappropriate advances on email, social networking websites or internet chat rooms by a work colleague
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Intrusive questions about your private life or physical appearance that made you feel offended
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Crude or offensive behaviour
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Sexual gestures, indecent exposure or inappropriate display of the body
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Sexually suggestive comments or jokes that made you feel offended
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Sexually explicit pictures, posters or gifts that made you feel offended
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Sexually explicit emails or text messages
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Sexual coercion
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Requests or pressure for sex or other sexual acts
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Sexual assault
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Inappropriate physical contact
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Actual or attempted rape or sexual assault
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Other
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Any other unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature
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Although a broad range of behaviours had been experienced, the most common were sexually suggestive comments or jokes (55%), intrusive questions about one’s private life or physical appearance (50%), and inappropriate staring or leering (31%). These same types of behaviours also made up the top three behaviours in the 2008 National Survey (56%, 47% and 32%, respectively).24
A notable change between the 2008 National Survey and the 2012 National Survey was the decline in people who reported receiving sexually explicit emails or text messages (22% to 17%). This change may be an indication that more employers are successfully implementing policies on appropriate use of email and mobile phones in the workplace, as recommended in the 2008 National Survey report. It may also mean that high profile cases reported extensively in the media in recent years have demonstrated successfully to employees that sexually suggestive emails and text messages can be traced and stored and used against a harasser should a complaint be made.
Physical behaviours (eg unwelcome touching etc) were experienced by 26% of targets in the workplace in the past five years, while non-physical behaviours (eg sexually explicit text messages) were experienced by 97% of targets in the workplace in that period. Many people experienced both physical and non-physical sexual harassment.
 Base: Respondents who experienced sexual harassment in the workplace in the past five years (n=420); men (n=159); women (n=261)
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Men were more likely than women to receive sexually explicit emails or text messages (31% of men; 9% of women), receive sexually explicit pictures, posters or gifts (20% of men; 12% of women), and be subject to sexual gestures, indecent sexual exposure or inappropriate display of the body (20% of men; 12% of women).
In contrast, women were more likely than men to experience all other types of behaviour. For example, women were significantly more likely than men to report inappropriate staring or leering (40% of women; 16% of men) and sexually suggestive comments or jokes (61% of women; 45% of men).
Of those respondents who reported sexual harassment of a physical nature, 68% were women and 32% were men. Of those respondents who reported sexual harassment of a non-physical nature, 61% were women and 39% were men.
 Base: Respondents who experienced sexual harassment in the workplace in the past five years (n=420); men (n=159); women (n=261)
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As in the 2008 National Survey, respondents who reported that they had been sexually harassed based on the legal definition were more likely than those respondents who said they had not been sexually harassed based on that definition but who reported sexual harassment behaviours, to report physical types of harassment.
Interestingly, 71% of respondents who said they had received sexually explicit emails or text messages and 65% of respondents who said they had received repeated or inappropriate advances on email, social networking websites or internet chat rooms, originally indicated that they had not been sexually harassed when read the legal definition of sexual harassment. This indicates a need to educate employees about the full range of behaviours that are likely to constitute unlawful sexual harassment.
(b) Duration
Sexual harassment, whether physical25 or non-physical,26 was most likely to occur once only (36%), similar to in 2008 (39%). It was next most likely to occur for a period of less than one month (15%), sporadically (14%) or for a period of between one to three months (12%). In a small proportion of cases, sexual harassment lasted for more than one year (5%) or was ongoing (continuous) (6%).
 Base: Respondents who experienced sexual harassment in the workplace in the past five years (n=420); men (n=159); women (n=261)
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The sex of the person harassed does not appear to have had a significant impact on the duration of the harassment. Whilst one-off incidents were roughly equal for women (36%) and men (37%), men (67%) were more likely than women (62%) to experience harassment over shorter time periods of time (ie less than three months). Conversely, women (16%) were more likely than men (12%) to experience harassment for periods of more than six months (including on an ongoing basis).
(c) Impact on targets
Respondents who reported that they had been sexually harassed in the workplace over the past five years (n=420) were asked to rate how offended and intimidated they were by the harassment on a scale of one to five (where one was ‘not at all’ and five was ‘extremely’).
The average score for feeling offended by the harassment was 2.8, down from 3.5 in 2003 and 3.2 in 2008. The average score for feeling intimidated was 2.4, down from 3 in 2003 and 2.7 in 2008. These findings suggest a gradual decline over time in how offended and intimidated a person is likely to feel as a result of being sexually harassed. This may suggest that the nature of sexual harassment is less extreme or serious for at least some targets. It could also suggest that targets are more tolerant of sexual harassment in the workplace.
 Base: Respondents who experienced sexual harassment in the workplace in the past five years (n=420)
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Continuing the trend from previous surveys, the more offended or intimidated a person feels when they are sexually harassed, the more likely they are to make a formal report or complaint about the harassment (see section 6.1(a)).
As with the 2008 National Survey, sexual harassment caused a higher level of offence and intimidation amongst women compared to men, with 31% of women at the extreme end of the scale (points four and five) of feeling offended compared to 19% of men, and almost twice as many women as men (25% to 13%) at the extreme end of feeling intimidated. Additionally, only 7% of women were not offended at all compared to one-fifth of men (19%), and a quarter of women were not intimidated at all (26%) compared to two in five men (41%).
 Base: Respondents who experienced sexual harassment in the workplace in the past five years (n=420); men (n=159); women (n=261)
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5.2 Characteristics of targets
As reported in section 4.2, approximately one in five (21%) people (targets) in Australia has experienced sexual harassment in the workplace in the past five years, based both on the legal and behavioural definitions of sexual harassment.
Whilst a broad cross-section of the Australian community have experienced sexual harassment in the workplace, the 2012 National Survey shows that targets of sexual harassment are mostly likely to be women and less than 40 years of age.
(a) Sex
The majority of the targets of sexual harassment in the workplace over the past five years were women. Five in eight (62%) targets were women, compared to only three in eight (38%) men.
Echoing research on the gendered nature of sexual harassment, these results reinforce that sexual harassment has a greater impact on women’s safety and security in the workforce and their ability to participate in the workforce effectively.
(b) Age
The 2012 National Survey was the first wave to investigate the age of targets at the time they were sexually harassed in the workplace.27
Overall, the majority (64%) of targets were less than 40 years of age when they were harassed, with targets most likely to be harassed between the ages of 18 and 24 (21%). One in ten (10%) targets was aged between 15 and 17 years when they were harassed, and less than one in five (17%) targets was aged 50 years and above, a marked decreased compared to most other age groups. Above the age of 65, the incidence of harassment for both women and men decreases markedly (1% or less).
Female targets of sexual harassment tended to be younger than male targets. Women (65%) were more likely than men (60%) to be under 40 at the time they were harassed. They were also more likely than men to be aged between 18 and 24 (23% of women; 17% of men) and 15 and 17 (8% of women; 7% for men). Conversely, men were more likely than women to be aged between 25 and 29 years (15% of men; 13% of women), between 30 to 34 years (8% of men; 7% of women) and
55 years and above (20% of men; 14% of women) when they were sexually harassed.
 Base: Respondents who experienced sexual harassment in the workplace in the past five years (n=420); men (n=159); women (n=261)
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(c) Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples
The incidence of sexual harassment amongst Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples (20%) was similar to that of non-Indigenous Australians (21%). This indicates that Aboriginal and / or Torres Strait Islander peoples are no more or less likely than non-Indigenous people to experience sexual harassment in the workplace.
(d) Cultural and linguistic background
Seven out of 114 respondents (15%) whose main language at home was not English reported that they had been sexually harassed in the workplace in the past five years. Whilst this is lower than the overall prevalence rate, as noted in previous surveys, it cannot be concluded that employees whose main language at home is not English are less likely than those whose main language is English to experience sexual harassment in the workplace. This is because the telephone survey method favours individuals whose main language is English.
(e) Employment status
The proportions of people working full-time and part-time when they were harassed were almost the same as in the 2008 National Survey (full-time: 65% in 2012; 68% in 2008; part-time: 34% in 2012; 32% in 2008). These proportions vary slightly from those in the general population (70% of people working in Australia are employed full time, 30% are employed part-time).28 Thus, while a particular level of workforce participation would not seem to predispose someone to sexual harassment, the incidence of part-time workers who were sexually harassed was slightly higher than the incidence of part-time workers in the general population. It should be noted, however, that the sample was not selected to reflect the Australian population by employment status (full-time / part-time).
Of the survey population, the majority (73%) of workers who were sexually harassed were employed on a permanent basis, with one in five (20%) employed casually and 6% indicating they were temporary employees. Of those employed part-time, 42% were permanent (compared to 44% in 2008), 46% were casual (the same as in 2008) and 10% were temporary employees.
As in the case of previous surveys, the 2012 National Survey found that sexual harassment occurs over a range of employment tenures. Almost two in five people were sexually harassed when they had been employed for less than a year (38%), with similar numbers employed for three or more years (39%). Almost a quarter (23%) of people were employed between one to three years when they were sexually harassed.
 Base: Respondents who experienced sexual harassment in the workplace in the past five years who were working full-time or part-time (n=416)
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Twenty-one per cent (21%) of people who were sexually harassed in the workplace in the past five years were employed as professional workers, 17% as clerical or office workers, and 16% as service workers. It should be noted that the sample was not selected to reflect the Australian population by occupation.
Of the survey population, fewer professional workers were the targets of sexual harassment in 2012 than in 2008 (down to 21% from 31%), while harassment of service workers almost doubled between 2008 (9%) and 2012 (16%).
 Base: Respondents who experienced sexual harassment in the workplace in the last 5 years (n=420); 2008 (n=226)
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Men employed as skilled tradespersons, semi-skilled workers and technology professionals were more likely than women employed in those same occupations to be sexually harassed. This may be attributable to the fact that these occupations are male-dominated in Australian workplaces.
Women were more likely than men to be sexually harassed while employed in most other occupation categories, especially as professional workers, clerical or office workers and service workers. This may also be attributable to the fact that these occupations are female-dominated.
 Base: Respondents who experienced sexual harassment in the workplace in the last 5 years (n=420); men (n=159); women (n=261)
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5.3 Characteristics of harassers
Sexual harassment in Australian workplaces is perpetrated by men and women of all working ages and at all levels of an organisation. However, the findings of the 2012 National Survey show that harassers are most likely to be men, aged between 31 to 50 years and co-workers of the person harassed.
(a) Sex
The vast majority of sexual harassment in Australian workplaces is perpetrated by men, irrespective of the sex / gender of the target of the harassment.
Nearly four out of five (79%) harassers were men, a slight decrease from 2008 (81%). Most women (90%) said that their harasser was male, while 37% of men said that their harasser was a woman.
 Base: Respondents who experienced sexual harassment in the workplace in the past five years (n=420); men (n=159); women (n=261)
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Overall, men harassing women accounted for more than half (56%) of all sexual harassment, continuing a downward trend from previous years (72% in 2003; 62% in 2008). Male harassment of men continued to rise, however, accounting for nearly a quarter (23%) of sexual harassment (7% in 2003; 18% in 2008).
Female harassment of men accounted for 14% of all sexual harassment in 2012, marginally less than in 2008 (15%) and less than in 2003 (19%). Women harassing women accounted for 6% of sexual harassment, almost the same as in 2008 (5%) and higher than in 2003 (2%).
Twenty-nine per cent (29%) of sexual harassment was perpetrated by a person who is the same sex as the target. The majority of perpetrators of same-sex sexual harassment were men, with men comprising four in five (79%) perpetrators and women comprising only one in five (21%) perpetrators.
Being harassed by someone of the same sex was much more common for men than for women, with 61% of men harassed by another man and only 10% of women harassed by another woman. Men employed as skilled tradespersons were more likely to experience same-sex harassment than men working in any other occupation (17%, or 16 out of the 95 men harassed by men). The occupation category with the next highest incidence of male harassment of men was ‘manager, executive or official’ (15%), followed by professional worker (14%). However, in both of these occupations, the most common form of harassment was of women by men, and not men by men.
The high incidence of same-sex harassment of men in the skilled tradesperson occupation category supports the suggestion from the report of the 2008 National Survey that male harassment of men 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 workplace.
A small percentage (2%) of male targets of harassment did not know the sex of their harasser. This may be because the harassment was carried out in a way that meant the perpetrator could not be identified (eg text message from an unidentified phone number, anonymous note).
(b) Age
Harassers were most likely to be aged between 31 and 50 (57%), with slightly more aged between 31 to 40 years (32%) than 41 to 50 years (25%).
One in four (25%) harassers in the workplace over the past five years were men in their thirties and one-fifth (20%) were men in their forties. In 2003 and 2008, around two-thirds of harassers were men over the age of 30, which is still the case in 2012 (63%).
Women over the age of 30 made up 13% of all harassers, while women over 40 accounted for only 7% of all harassers.
 Base: Respondents who experienced sexual harassment in the workplace in the past five years (n=420); respondents harassed by male harasser (n=331); respondents harassed by female harasser (n=85); respondents who did not know gender of harasser (n=4)
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(c) Relationship to target
Harassers were most likely to be a co-worker (52%) of the person harassed, followed by their boss or employer (11%) and their supervisor or manager (11%). This is consistent with previous surveys, which also found that harassers were most likely to be a co-worker (50% in 2008; 48% in 2003), boss or employer (8% in 2008; 20% in 2003), or supervisor or manager (9% in 2008; 13% in 2003) of the person harassed.
 Base: 2012: Respondents who experienced sexual harassment in the workplace in the past five years (n=420); men (n=159); women (n=261)
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Men were more likely than women to be harassed by a co-worker (64% of men; 45% of women) or ‘others associated with the workplace’ (8% of men; 6% of women). Women were more likely than men to be harassed by all other employee categories. Notably, women were at least five times more likely than men to have been harassed by a boss or employer (17% to 3%).
 Base: Respondents who experienced sexual harassment in the workplace in the past five years (n=420); men (n=159); women (n=261)
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(d) Multiple or repeat harassers
Forty-five per cent of respondents who had been sexually harassed in the workplace in the past five years were aware of someone else who had been harassed in that same workplace (see section 4.4 above). For the first time, those respondents were asked whether the harasser was the same person who had harassed them.
The majority of those respondents (82%) reported that the person who harassed them had similarly harassed other people in the workplace. Sixteen per cent (16%) reported that the harassment had been by someone else. Importantly, this finding suggests that taking immediate and effective action to deal with an individual perpetrator may be an effective and efficient way to prevent other employees from being sexually harassed by that same perpetrator. Conversely, failing to take such action may contribute to a culture of harassment.
Men (28%) were more likely than women (9%) to report the presence of multiple harassers in the workplace. In contrast, women (89%) were more likely than men (71%) to report the presence of repeat harassers.
 Bases: Respondents aware of someone else being sexually harassed in the same location where they had experienced sexual harassment (n=190); men (n=68); women (n=122)
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In addition to the high proportion of repeat harassers, there is a high perception amongst targets that sexual harassment occurred commonly or sometimes in their workplace (see section 4.4).
5.4 Characteristics of workplaces
No workplace, regardless of its size or industry, is immune from sexual harassment. Each wave of the survey has found that sexual harassment is pervasive and occurs in workplaces of all sizes and across all industries, though the 2012 National Survey found that it occurs most commonly in large workplaces and in a handful of industries (ie health and community services; accommodation, café and restaurant; retail; and education). It should be noted, however, that the sample was not selected to reflect the Australian population by employer size or industry.
(a) Size
Sexual harassment was most likely to occur in large workplaces (41%), followed by small (33%) and medium (24%) workplaces.
In contrast, sexual harassment was more evenly spread across employer size in 2008 (large: 39%; medium: 30%; small: 31%), and equally likely to occur in small (38%) and large (37%) workplaces in 2003.29
(b) Industry
Sexual harassment was most likely to occur in the health and community services (14%), accommodation, café and restaurant (11%), retail (11%) and education (10%) industries. The top four industries in which sexual harassment occurs have not changed across the three waves of the survey, although the order has changed slightly across each survey wave.
5.5 Conclusion
The 2012 National Survey shows that experiences of sexual harassment in the workplace are extremely diverse: they involve a broad range of behaviours and occur through a variety of different mediums, in different industries and workplace sizes and last for different periods of time, and with diverse consequences for individuals harassed. Notwithstanding these varied experiences, the survey shows that the overwhelming majority of sexual harassment is perpetrated by male co-workers, who are between the ages of 31 to 50 years. It also shows that the overwhelming majority of sexual harassment is perpetrated against women, especially young women.
Because experiences of sexual harassment in the workplace are extremely diverse,
it is important that prevention strategies target all employees, across all levels of seniority. However, when developing and implementing those strategies, it is important for employers to consider which groups of employees may be:
- more vulnerable to sexual harassment
- more likely to engage in sexual harassment
- able to take action to prevent or reduce the harm of sexual harassment.
It is also important that employers ensure that their prevention strategies address sexual harassment involving persons of the opposite sex and persons of the same sex.
In addition, it is important for employers to ensure that prevention strategies cover the full range of behaviours that are likely to constitute unlawful sexual harassment. This includes sexual harassment that occurs through different mediums (eg in person, via mobile telephones, through email / the Internet and social media).
Further research is needed to understand the characteristics of workplaces and industries in which sexual harassment is most likely to occur. An example of such research is the ADF Survey, conducted as part of the Defence Review, which examined the prevalence, nature and reporting of sexual harassment in the ADF and provided a comparative analysis with the results of the 2012 National Survey (see section 2.3). The detailed insights gained into sexual harassment in the ADF workplace through interviews with a statistically significant sample of ADF employees (n=1,000) suggests there is real value in expanding future waves of the survey to include other industries, for example financial services, mining and information technology.
