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Back to 1999 - 2000 Annual Report Contents Annual Report 1999 - 2000 Significant Achievements for 1999 - 2000 Youth Challenge Program - A program for secondary school students Community Information/Education Program Commission Website update Engagement by President and Commissioners in media debate on range of issues Release of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner's ...

HREOC offers extraordinary support and the possibility of redress to those pushed to the edges of our society. The rigor and innovation of its staff and the quality policy work, inquiries, reports and educational programs have given visibility to critical social issues and informed our democracy. Australia's history as a global human rights advocate owes much to HREOC's achievements and reputation. Andrea Durbach, Director, Australasian Human Rights Centre

A significant number of sexual harassment complaints received by the Commission involve small businesses. Employers should be aware of the potential for sexual harassment to occur in the context of close working relationships where staff are on familiar terms with one another and should take appropriate precautions to avoid this risk.

The Stop the Traffic 2 Conference is being presented by Project Respect in association with RMIT University School of Social Science and Planning and the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission and is sponsored by the City of Yarra and VicHealth.

Sexual harassment is unlawful under the SDA and complaints of sexual harassment are managed by HREOC under the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission Act 1986 (Cth) ("HREOCA"). This Chapter provides a short overview of the public policy framework which governs sexual harassment and examines some of the implications of the survey results for public policy, particularly in comparison with the findings from A Bad Business.[131]

3.1 Equality before the law and non-discrimination (a) Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples The UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples has yet to be implemented in law, policy and practice. [12] Recommendation: The Commission recommends that Government develop, in partnership with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, a National Strategy to give effect to the ...

HREOC plays a significant role in monitoring legislation and policy in Australia to assess compliance with human rights principles. This monitoring role includes:

Media Pack Index | Media Release | Launch Speech by Pru Goward | Speech by Nareen Young | Case Studies Fact Sheets: Key Findings | The Complaints Process | Legal Definition of Sexual Harassment | Cost to Employers

This chapter provides an overview of some of the main findings of the national telephone survey on the incidence and nature of sexual harassment. Section 2.2 discusses the incidence rate of the experience of sexual harassment in the community generally, and more particularly the incidence rate of sexual harassment in the workplace experienced in the five years prior to conducting the survey. These findings are then compared to other studies on the incidence of sexual harassment conducted in Australia and overseas.

In a modern workforce where men and women work side by side it is important that employers protect their employees from unwanted behaviour that is not only harmful to the employee involved but also unprofessional and unproductive for the workplace. Sexual harassment is one form of unwanted behaviour that attempts to exclude individuals from the workplace by focusing on the sex of the person involved. Sexual harassment can happen in many different situations but overwhelmingly the complaints we receive involve the workplace.

Sexual harassment is an unwelcome sexual advance, unwelcome request for sexual favours or other unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature which makes a person feel offended, humiliated or intimidated, where a reasonable person would anticipate that reaction in the circumstances. [11] The Sex Discrimination Act defines the nature and circumstances in which sexual harassment is unlawful. [12]

“Traffickers violate the basic human rights of victims to be free from sexual abuse, exploitation and slavery. The sexual servitude experienced by those trafficked for prostitution intrudes into and violates a human’s privacy and personal integrity.”

Sexual harassment has been unlawful across Australia for almost twenty years with 2004 marking the twentieth anniversary of the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 (Cth) (Sex Discrimination Act). [2] Over that period, community awareness of the existence of sexual harassment, particularly in the area of employment, has grown considerably.

The Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission Act gives HREOC the function of inquiring into complaints concerning breaches of human rights or discrimination in employment. HREOC attempts to resolve such complaints through conciliation where appropriate. If the matter is not resolved through conciliation and the President is satisfied that a breach of human rights or an act of discrimination has occurred, the President reports on the matter to the federal Attorney-General.

The information available in relation to each of the 152 complaints varied. As such, it was not always possible to determine each finding in relation to all of the complaints. For each of the findings below, the number of complaints for which the particular information was available is noted in brackets.