- Published:
- Friday, 18 March 2022 at 10:31 am
As a member of the Power to Prevent Coalition, we are calling on the Australian Government to act now to prevent sexual harassment at work by implementing all remaining recommendations of the Respect@Work report.
In a formal submission to the consultation process that closed today, the Power to Prevent Coalition highlighted eight legislative reforms that can deliver on the Respect@Work plan for safe and gender-equal workplaces that are free from sexual harassment.
It includes the introduction of a positive duty on employers to stop sex discrimination and harassment before it happens, and new powers to be given to the Australian Human Rights Commission to investigate, monitor and enforce compliance.
The report called for the Fair Work Act 2009 to be clarified to expressly prohibit sexual harassment as defined in the Sex Discrimination Act 1984, and recommended that people who have been sexually harassed should be able to be supported by representative bodies to take legal action.
Two years on from the Respect@Work report, we urge the Australian Government to address these remaining legislative reforms without further delay.
The Power to Prevent Coalition represents more than 60 diverse community organisations from around the country and across the health, family violence, business, union and legal sectors.
Every day, we see the impacts of sexual harassment and the failures of our systems to prevent it.
At least one in three Australians have been sexually harassed at work within the past five years.
Conducted by the Sex Discrimination Commissioner, the report also highlighted the gendered and intersectional nature of workplace sexual harassment, and the disproportionate impacts on women, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women, women of colour, women living with disability, younger and older women, and women facing socioeconomic disadvantage, as well as LGBTIQ+ communities.
Quotes attributable to Victoria Legal Aid Equality Law Program Manager Melanie Schleiger
‘The Respect@Work report sets out clear and sensible legal reforms to empower workers to take action against incidents of sexual harassment and strengthen their rights – this is essential reform that two years on, remains unfinished.’
‘Creating a positive duty on employers to prevent sexual harassment is one of the key recommendations in the Respect@Work report. It is the employer who has the power to understand the problem, identify the sexual harassment risk factors and to create a safe workplace – not a 15-year-old working in their first job, a woman on a temporary visa or someone afraid of losing their job.’
‘Sexual harassment at work is pervasive, but it is preventable. With these important changes, we have the power to make safe, equitable and respectful workplaces a reality.’
Media enquiries
For media enquiries, please contact Senior Communications Advisor Crys Ja on 0457 483 780 or crys.ja@vla.vic.gov.au.
More information
Read Urgent law reform needed to prevent sexual harassment at work – a joint statement, which includes a full list of coalition members.
Read about how to get help if you've been harassed, discriminated or bullied.
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