2.1 Overview
Sexual harassment is an urgent issue in
Australian workplaces.
Since 2003, the Australian Human
Rights Commission (the Commission)
has conducted surveys to measure the
prevalence, nature and reporting of sexual
harassment in Australia. The Commission’s
Everyone’s business: Fourth national
survey on sexual harassment in Australian
Workplaces (2018 National Survey) was
released in 2018. Its findings indicate
that sexual harassment is endemic in
Australian society, across all areas of daily
life.2
Sexual harassment in the workplace is a
common experience which has increased
in prevalence since previous years. Key
findings from the 2018 National Survey
included:
• One in three people (33%)
said they experienced sexual
harassment at work in the last
five years.3
• Both women and men
experienced sexual harassment
at increased rates than in
previous surveys—almost two in
five women (39%) and just over
one in four men (26%) said they
experienced sexual harassment
in the workplace in the last five
years.4
• Young people aged between 18
and 29 were more likely than
those in other age groups to have
experienced workplace sexual
harassment in the last five years.6
Young women were significantly
more likely than young men to
have been sexually harassed.7
• The risk of sexual harassment
was much higher for people
who already experience higher
rates of disadvantage and
discrimination, with 52% of
workers who identify as lesbian,
gay, bisexual, transgender or
intersex; 53% of Aboriginal or
Torres Strait Islander workers;
and 44% of workers with
disability indicating they were
sexually harassed at work in the
last five years.8
For the first time, the 2018 National
Survey was able to report on experiences
of workers in particular industries. It
found that unwelcome sexual conduct
was experienced across the full range of
industries, occupations and employment
status.
The majority of workplace sexual
harassment took place within Australia’s
four largest industries,9 indicating that the
prevalence of sexual harassment mirrors
the proportion of the Australian workforce
employed in those industries.
• Four out of five people (79%)
were sexually harassed by a male
harasser.5
Respect@Work: National Inquiry into Sexual Harassment in Australian Workplaces • 2020 • 69