End Sexual Harassment: Implement Respect@Work Report
End Sexual Harassment: Implement Respect@Work Report
The issue
Last year the Federal Sex Discrimination Commissioner released the Commission’s Respect @ Work report that found one in three people were sexually harassed at work in the last five years, and that women were more likely to experience sexual harassment than men. The report also found that the current legal model is broken. The report outlines 55 recommendations that need to be implemented to create a safe and harassment-free workplace for all Australians.
Yet our federal government has failed to commit to implementing all of these recommendations. In addition, our federal politicians were told of the widespread problem of sexual harassment and of the broken legal system back in 2008 when myself and other lawyers appeared before a Senate Committee Inquiry into the Effectiveness of the Sex Discrimination Act 1984. And we already told them we needed a proactive model which required positive actions from employers—a key finding of the Respect @ Work report.
Unfortunately, necessary action was not taken back then and sexual harassment has continued to be prevalent whilst too many employers handle it badly. And now we are dealing with the sexist and misogynistic attitudes being exposed at our Federal Parliament and have heard of sexual harassment and sexual assault occurring there.
The longer the government takes to commit to implementing all of the recommendations of the Respect @ Work report, the less safe Australian workplaces are, the greater the number of victims and the more trauma they will experience and their families, and the greater the struggle for those of us who are survivors of workplace sexual assault and sexual harassment to move forward.
The delay also makes it harder to achieve gender equality, our economy suffers, and our communities cannot be as vibrant and prosperous as they should be.
Implementing all of the recommendations of the Respect @ Work report in recognition that this is a matter of urgency is an important step (along with others) to create a culture that respects women and girls and make our workplaces safe.
359
The issue
Last year the Federal Sex Discrimination Commissioner released the Commission’s Respect @ Work report that found one in three people were sexually harassed at work in the last five years, and that women were more likely to experience sexual harassment than men. The report also found that the current legal model is broken. The report outlines 55 recommendations that need to be implemented to create a safe and harassment-free workplace for all Australians.
Yet our federal government has failed to commit to implementing all of these recommendations. In addition, our federal politicians were told of the widespread problem of sexual harassment and of the broken legal system back in 2008 when myself and other lawyers appeared before a Senate Committee Inquiry into the Effectiveness of the Sex Discrimination Act 1984. And we already told them we needed a proactive model which required positive actions from employers—a key finding of the Respect @ Work report.
Unfortunately, necessary action was not taken back then and sexual harassment has continued to be prevalent whilst too many employers handle it badly. And now we are dealing with the sexist and misogynistic attitudes being exposed at our Federal Parliament and have heard of sexual harassment and sexual assault occurring there.
The longer the government takes to commit to implementing all of the recommendations of the Respect @ Work report, the less safe Australian workplaces are, the greater the number of victims and the more trauma they will experience and their families, and the greater the struggle for those of us who are survivors of workplace sexual assault and sexual harassment to move forward.
The delay also makes it harder to achieve gender equality, our economy suffers, and our communities cannot be as vibrant and prosperous as they should be.
Implementing all of the recommendations of the Respect @ Work report in recognition that this is a matter of urgency is an important step (along with others) to create a culture that respects women and girls and make our workplaces safe.
359
The Decision Makers
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Petition created on 23 March 2021