Victim-survivors of workplace sexual harassment will now have the chance to participate in a landmark project to improve prevention and response strategies for sexual harassment at work.
From today, the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) are accepting submissions from the public for the Speaking from Experience Project, which aims to develop resources and understanding around prevention strategies and survivor-centred responses.
The project comes from Recommendation 27 in the AHRC’s 2020 Respect@Work report, which called for “a disclosure process be established that enables victim-survivors of historical workplace sexual harassment to have their experiences heard and documented with a view to promoting recovery”.
The project will be headed by the AHRC Sex Discrimination Commissioner, Dr Anna Cody.
“Everyone deserves to feel safe and respected at work,” Dr Cody said.
“Survivors of sexual harassment have invaluable insights into the challenges and solutions needed to create safer workplaces and this is their chance to have their say.”
One in three people in Australian workplaces have been sexually harassed, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ Personal Safety Survey 2021-2022. This rate has remained unchanged in the last six years.
However, workplace sexual harassment disproportionately affects people from minority groups, including First Nations peoples, culturally and racially marginalised people, young people, people with disability and people who identify as LGBTQIA+.
“These groups are disproportionately targeted by perpetrators to be sexually harassed at work,” Dr Cody said.
Last year, a report from Australia’s National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety (ANROWS) found almost 50 per cent of migrant and refugee women have experienced sexual harassment.
It’s a similar story for the LGBTQIA+ community; 46 per cent have experienced workplace sexual harassment. For women with a disability, 48 per cent have experienced sexual harassment in the workplace.
Alarmingly, 56 per cent of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women said they have experienced sexual harassment in the workplace, according to the Respect @ Work report from 2018.
In December last year, the AHRC announced new regulatory measures to enforce positive duty in preventing unlawful conduct in the workplace. The positive duty changes were also derived from the AHRC’s Respect@Work report recommendations.
While it was landmark progress for Australian workplaces dealing with workplace sexual harassment, some wondered how effective the changes would be for minority groups.
The Speaking from Experience Project invites people, especially those from minority groups, who have experienced workplace sexual harassment to help Sex Discimination Commissioner Dr Anna Cody and the team to improve prevention and response strategies in Australian workplaces.
“Speaking from Experience is a pivotal step forward in our collective efforts to prevent workplace sexual harassment and promote safer, more inclusive and diverse workplaces,” Dr Cody said.
“By listening to people who have been sexually harassed at work, we can drive meaningful change and create workplaces where everyone feels respected, valued, and safe.”
In-person consultations in Perth with Dr Cody and victim-survivors of workplace sexual harassment will commence this week. People who wish to make a written or audio submission to the AHRC can go to the Commission’s website for more information.