How bad is Australia’s workplace sexual harassment problem?

Almost every week, we see news headlines of sexual harassment taking place in Australian workplaces. If you are constantly seeing stories like these in your social media feed, it is understandable to think that workplace sexual harassment is a huge problem in Australia.

So, how bad is the problem – particularly for women? What we aim to do in this article is present an unbiased, fact-based view of the nature of workplace sexual harassment in Australia. We want to present the reality of the problem based on data, devoid of opinion or speculation.

To do this, we will look at the latest stats from arguably the most reputable source, the Australian Human Rights Commission. Read on to learn the most critical stats from the Commission’s latest survey on workplace sexual harassment in Australia.

Sexual harassment a reality for a third of workers, but women have it far worse

The Australian Human Rights Commission’s “Time for Respect: Fifth national survey on sexual harassment in Australian workplaces” was released in 2022. It surveyed over 10,000 Australian workers from all walks of life.

The survey involved asking respondents who had been in a workplace at any point during the preceding five years if they had experienced sexual harassment. For those who confirmed they had, details were collected about their most recent experience.

The study found that 33% of surveyed workers had reported a sexual harassment incident in the previous five years. But this figure only tells half of the story as it accounts for both female and male victims. For women, the incidents of harassment are much higher. 41% of women reported an incident, compared to 26% of men.

Perpetrators overwhelmingly male

In addition to this glaring statistic, the study found that most harassers were men. 77% of survey respondents were harassment by a man. If we break this down across genders, 91% of women were harassed by a man, while 55% of men were. The study also found 9% of women and 44% of men were harassed by a woman.

Verbal harassment most common form of sexual harassment

The survey revealed the most common forms of sexual harassment in workplaces, breaking down the stats for both genders:

• Verbal harassment: Over a quarter (27%) of survey respondents reported experiencing sexually suggestive comments or jokes. This was significantly more common for women, affecting 40% of female respondents compared to 14% of male respondents.
• Invasive questioning: Nearly a quarter (23%) encountered intrusive questions about their personal lives or physical appearance that caused offence. Women were disproportionately affected at 32%, versus 14% of men.
• Non-verbal intimidation: Unwelcome staring or leering that caused feelings of intimidation was reported by 19% of individuals. This experience was far more prevalent among women (30%) than men (8%).
• Unwanted physical contact (less severe): Also at 19%, experiences included unwelcome touching, hugging, cornering or kissing. This impacted 28% of women and 10% of men.
• Unwelcome physical contact (general): Another 19% reported other forms of inappropriate physical contact. This affected 26% of women and 11% of men.

Sexual harassers not always more senior

We often hear of workplace sexual harassment taking place in the context of ‘an abuse of power’ in a working relationship. For instance, between a boss or manager and a lower ranking employee. The Australian Human Rights Commission survey indicated that this is certainly the case in many instances. However, it showed that victims are most commonly harassed by those of the same rank within a workplace.

The survey’s statistics on the relationship between the harasser and the person harassed break down as follows:

• Co-workers or peers: A quarter (25%) of individual harassers were a co-worker or peer at the same level in the organisation as the person harassed.
• Clients or customers: Almost one in five individual harassers (19%) were a client or customer. This dynamic particularly impacted women, who were almost twice as likely as men to have been sexually harassed by a client or customer in the workplace (22% for women, compared to 12% for men).
• Direct managers or supervisors: 9% of harassers were a direct manager or supervisor. Interestingly, slightly more men experienced sexual harassment by a direct manager or supervisor than women (10% compared to 9% of women), though this remains a small overall incidence rate.
• Other managers or supervisors: 6% of harassers were another manager or supervisor who did not directly supervise the person harassed.
• Heads of the organisation: 5% of harassers were the head of the workplace or organisation, such as the CEO or business owner.

Women harassed by those senior, men by those lower in rank

The data also revealed differences in hierarchical harassment based on gender. Women were more likely than men to have been sexually harassed by a more senior co-worker. This was the case for 17% for women, compared to 13% for men. Conversely, men were more than twice as likely as women to have been harassed by a co-worker below their level. This was the case for 11% for men, compared to 6% of women.

One-off vs recurring sexual harassment evenly split

The study found that half (50%) of those who experienced workplace sexual harassment reported that the most recent incident was a one-off experience. However, for the other 50% of respondents, the same form of harassment had occurred on more than one occasion.

Breaking this down by gender, women were found to be more likely than men to have experienced harassment on more than one occasion. 54% of women reported repeated harassment, compared to 44% of men.

Worst sectors for sexual harassment identified

The Australian Human Rights Commission’s survey provided a breakdown of harassment prevalence across various industry groups. The survey presented two sets of results. The first utilised modelling that combined survey responses with data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Labour Force Estimates. This allowed for an estimation of incidence rates across the workforce.

The second set of results showed those sectors where harassment incidents were disproportionately high relative to their representation in the Australian workforce.

Five worst industries, particularly for women

The study that used modelling found that workplace sexual harassment is notably higher than the national incidence rate of 33% in several industries. The sectors with the highest estimated prevalence over the last five years are:

• Information, Media and Telecommunications: 64%
• Arts and Recreation Services: 44%
• Electricity, Gas, Water and Waste Services: 40%
• Retail Trade: 40%
• Accommodation and Food Services: 34%

When these figures are broken down by gender, distinct differences emerge, indicating that women were more likely to have been sexually harassed in nearly all industries. Women were significantly more likely to experience harassment in:

• Arts and Recreation Services: An estimated 72% of women compared to 14% of men.
• Electricity, Gas, Water and Waste Services: An estimated 71% of women compared to 30% of men.
• Mining: An estimated 62% of women compared to 25% of men.
• Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing: An estimated 47% of women compared to 17% of men.
• Administrative and Support Services: An estimated 34% of women compared to 12% of men.
• Construction: An estimated 29% of women compared to 8% of men.

Education and Training was the only industry where men and women were almost equally likely to have experienced sexual harassment. The study estimated that 29% of men experienced harassment compared to 28% of women.

Retail, hospitality had disproportionate no. of incidents

The second set of results, which were based on raw survey data and not projections, revealed that almost half of sexual harassment incidents took place in four sectors:

• Retail Trade: 14%
• Healthcare and Social Assistance: 14%
• Education and Training: 9%
• Accommodation and Food Services: 9%

The Australian Human Rights Commission also broke down which industries had a disproportionate amount of sexual harassment. Its study factored in the number of incidents relative to the number of workers in each sector. The worst industries were:

• Retail Trade: 14% of incidents compared to 10% of the workforce.
• Accommodation and Food Services: 9% of incidents compared to 7% of the workforce.
• Arts and Recreation Services: 3% of incidents compared to 2% of the workforce.
• Electricity, Gas, Water and Waste Services: 2% of incidents compared to 1% of the workforce.
• Financial and Insurance Services: 5% of incidents compared to 4% of the workforce.
• Education and Training: 9% of incidents compared to 8% of the workforce.

Sexual harassment victims often ignored, victimised

The study also cast a damning light on the responses of Australian workplaces to formal reports or complaints of sexual harassment. In less than a third of cases (28%) did the harassment cease after a formal complaint was made. Meanwhile, 40% of those who made a complaint stated that it led to no changes at their workplace.

Negative consequences were also experienced by over a third of those who made a complaint. 13% reported being ostracised, victimised or ignored by colleagues. Meanwhile, another 13% felt compelled to resign from their positions. Being labelled a “troublemaker” was a consequence faced by 12% of reporters.

A quarter of sexual harassers faced no consequences

The survey revealed that in 24% of cases, formal complaints brought no consequences for the harasser. For female victims, this lack of action was worse. 28% of female reporters saw no consequences for the harasser. This is compared to 17% for male reporters.

While negative outcomes were prevalent, some positive results were also noted. 21% of those who reported received an apology from their employer for failing to prevent the sexual harassment. Meanwhile, another 21% received positive feedback for making the complaint.

Many victims discouraged from reporting incidents

The “Time for Respect” survey explored the reasons why many victims chose not to report incidents of sexual harassment in the first place.

A considerable 42% of those who experienced sexual harassment did not report it because they deemed the incident “not serious enough.” Similarly, 38% found it simply “easier to keep quiet” rather than engage with a reporting process.

Concerns about how their complaint would be perceived also played a significant role. Nearly a third, 31%, feared that people would think they were “overreacting.” Meanwhile, 28% expressed a belief that reporting “would not change things or that nothing would be done.”

Practical and reputational anxieties further deterred reporting. 19% anticipated that the complaint process itself would be “embarrassing or difficult.” In addition, 14% feared that making a report would negatively affect their “reputation or career.”

 

Have you been sexually harassed at work?

If you’ve experienced sexual harassment at work, A Whole New Approach is here to help you take back control. For over 20 years, we have supported thousands of Australians to stand up for their rights.

Our team offers confidential advice, compassionate support and expert representation across all states. We can help guide you through a sexual harassment claim and get the compensation you deserve.

 

Call us today on 1300 766 700 and speak to someone who genuinely cares. Our lines open 7 days.