One in every two Australian women has been subjected to sexual harassment at some point in their lives.
Led by Australian Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins, the national inquiry into sexual harassment Respect@Work was released in 2020 after an 18-month inquiry into sexual harassment in Australian workplaces. The study presented 55 suggestions for the government, industry, and community sectors to consider to effectively prevent and respond to sexual harassment in Australia.
Sadly, two years on, it is deeply concerning that the key recommendations from this landmark report have still not been implemented. These sensible and practical changes to our laws must be made urgently to help create gender-equal and inclusive workplaces that are safe, respectful, and equitable for everyone.
We, at SMLS, are proud to be a part of the Power2Prevent Coalition comprising more than 60 diverse community organisations, unions, academics, peak bodies, health professionals, lawyers, and victim-survivors. We call on the Australian Government to implement all remaining recommendations of the Respect@Work report in full and without further delay.
Key recommendations
- Invest in primary prevention efforts to address the underlying drivers of sexual harassment.
- Work health and safety laws in all jurisdictions should be amended to create an effective legal framework to prevent and address sexual harassment.
- Commonwealth, state and territory work health and safety agencies should be resourced, empowered and trained to effectively address sexual harassment.
- Commonwealth, state and territory anti-discrimination laws must be enforceable and impose a positive duty on employers to prevent sexual harassment.
- Human rights commissions in all jurisdictions should be granted increased powers and resources to effectively address sexual harassment.
- Reform our complaint systems
- Specialist support services should be funded to assist people who have experienced sexual harassment.
Read our joint statement here.
We stand together to call for this urgent reform to prevent sexual harassment at work.
