Everyone's business: Fourth national survey on sexual harassment in Australian workplaces

Abstract

This year's National Survey. It confirms that sexual harassment<br/ >is widespread and pervasive. One in three people have experienced sexual harassment at work in the last five years. This is a marked increase in the prevalence rate recorded by previous surveys. We cannot be certain if this is due to an increase in sexually harassing behaviours, or to greater awareness of the types of behaviours that constitute sexual<br/ >harassment, or to other factors. This is a problem that affects<br/ >millions of Australians and we, collectively, have a big job ahead to tackle the problem.<br/ ><br/ >The data paints a comprehensive picture of the nature of sexual harassment in Australian workplaces. In the vast majority of cases, it is perpetrated by a man and in many cases; it is ongoing over an extended period. Half of victims have experienced similar harassment before, and a substantial proportion experience negative consequences as a result, such as impacts on mental health or stress. While sexual harassment is an issue across all industries, rates are particularly high in the information, media and telecommunications industry.<br/ ><br/ >Disturbingly, the survey reveals that reporting of workplace sexual harassment continues to be low. Only 17% of people who experienced sexual harassment at work in the last five years made a formal report or complaint about the harassment. This finding highlights the importance of employers taking steps both to prevent workplace sexual harassment from occurring and to ensure that they respond appropriately when a report is made. <br/ ><br/ >This years' survey results also suggest that more work is needed to encourage and support the action of bystanders in the workplace—people who witness or hear about the sexual harassment of another person at their work. Although more than one in three people in 2018 were bystanders to the sexual harassment of someone else in their workplace (a threefold increase since 2012), only one-third of them took action in response. This is a drop compared to 2012, when half<br/ >of bystanders took action. As bystanders can make a significant contribution to preventing workplace sexual harassment, these results highlight the need to target our efforts at supporting<br/ >bystanders to take a stand against sexual harassment.