2019 AHRC Sexual Harassment Inquiry
On 20 June 2018 Australia’s Sex Discrimination Commissioner, Kate Jenkins, announced a national inquiry into sexual harassment in Australian workplaces.
VWT’s contribution to this Inquiry took two forms, as signatories to a joint statement with over 100 other organisations from around Australia and with our own individual submission.
Below is an excerpt from our submission:
“Gender equality in our broader society will remain out of reach until women can be confident that they can undertake paid work in safety, with employers who accept unequivocally that everyone’s well-being is their responsibility and priority.
Sexual harassment at work flourishes in places where sexual discrimination goes unchecked and full gender equality remains a distant hope. Sexual harassment is fuelled by organisations that remain overly masculine; are unequal from top to bottom; and which manifest cultures of permissiveness towards perpetrators and silencing of those harmed.
Legal and process reforms will still fall short in tackling sexual harassment as long as our workplaces defy the necessary transformation of becoming more diverse and equal places – from the senior echelons downwards.
Our submission first introduced the problem of sexual harassment in workplaces followed by actions that others have recommended which we endorse and finally, our own recommendations.
Our hope for this Inquiry is ambitious. That in years to come we look back and see that this is where the line in the sand was drawn, that the responses from employers, leaders, governments and our community generated ensured that we as a society had begun to take sexual harassment at work, as well as other forms of violence against women which affect their ability to engage fully in formal work, seriously.”
You can read our joint statement including the signatory organisations on the Trust Journal here.
Click on the button below if you would like to download a copy of our submission.
