According to , one in three workers say they've been sexually harassed at work over the last five years. But sexual harassment in the workplace is unlawful and shouldn't be tolerated.
What’s sexual harassment?
describes as "an unwelcome sexual advance, unwelcome request for sexual favours or other unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature which makes a person feel offended, humiliated and/or intimidated, where a reasonable person would anticipate that reaction in the circumstances.”
It can take several forms, like sexual “jokes”, leering, unwanted invitation to go on dates and requests for sex, intrusive questions about a person’s private life, insults based on sex, unwelcome touching and sexually explicit emails or text messages.
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Who are the victims?
Anybody can be a victim of sexual harassment, but the shows that young women are the most vulnerable.
In the last five years, 39% of the women interrogated had experienced sexual harassment, and 26% of the men. The most common victims of sexual harassment were younger people under the age of 29.
How to get support?
Sexual harassment at work is unlawful under the . To learn more about your rights, you can call the Australian Human Rights Commission on their information line, 1300 656 419. If you're distressed, you can talk to a trusted friend or call .
If needed, you can access an interpreter through the when calling the Australian Rights Commission information line or 1800 RESPECT.
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How to file a complaint?
Once you have decided to make a complaint, you can talk to , a human resources representative or the union at your workplace.
“The response can be varied. Some employers will take the complaint seriously and investigate it and take action. Others are less informed about what they need to do so they can also ask the Human Rights Commission for help on what they should do in response,” says Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins.
If your employer doesn't take action, you can to ensure your rights are respected. It can lead to a conciliation process and possibly to court.
“Ideally, when you go to your employer, the employer will take the complaint seriously, make sure you're not subjected to any detriment for bringing it forward and see what they can do to sort it out, which quite often will be working with the individual to decide whether they want to progress with a complaint and to deal with it within the company," says Jenkins.
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Where to find more information?
To learn more about sexual harassment and your rights in the workplace, visit the and the websites, which both provide .