Ignorance rife on sexual harassment

The Australian

MANY Australians still don't understand when they are being sexually harassed in the workplace.

In a survey to be released today, more than one in five people who said they had not been sexually harassed went on to describe being subjected to behaviour considered sexual harassment under the law.

The survey of more than 2000 people commissioned by the Australian Human Rights Commission found that although sexual harassment at work had declined over the past five years, many people were unaware of what constituted sexually harassing behaviour.

There has been a marked drop in reporting of workplace sexual harassment, with only 16per cent of those concerned making a formal complaint or report compared with 32 per cent in the last survey, in 2003.

In 2008, 22 per cent of women and 5 per cent of men aged 18-64 said they had experienced sexual harassment in the workplace, compared with 28per cent of women and 7 per cent of men in 2003.

Sex Discrimination Commissioner Elizabeth Broderick said the survey showed sexual harassment was still a serious problem in workplaces, though some employers had begun to incorporate education programs into their corporate culture.

"I think we can put the improvement down to more education and training," she said. "There has been some strong leadership shown, with many company CEOs making it clear any form of sexual harassment is not to be tolerated in their culture.

"But there is still a significant proportion of the population who don't understand what sexual harassment is and when it is happening to them."

The survey showed 10per cent of people reported being subjected to unwelcome sexually suggestive comments or jokes that offended them, but did not know that constituted sexual harassment.

Similarly, 9 per cent reported being subject to unwelcome intrusive questions about their private life or physical appearance that offended them, but again were not aware this was sexual harassment. Others reported physical harassment such as unwelcome touching, hugging, cornering or kissing.

Ms Broderick said the lack of awareness about what constituted sexual harassment was an issue that should be addressed.

"We must look at better employment education," she said.

Ms Broderick also warned of the dangers the new media posed in facilitating behaviour that constituted sexual harassment. "All the social networking sites, plus email access on mobile phones, these are places where such behaviour can manifest itself now that weren't available in the past."