Last week the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) released their report from the Speaking from Experience project, with 11 recommendations for change developed from victim-survivor responses.
The project provided a full picture of how harassers target people of all identities within our community: culturally and racially marginalised and migrant and refugee women, lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, gender diverse, queer and other sexual or gender non-confirming people (LGBTQ+), young people, First Nations people and people with disability.
From March to October 2024 the AHRC Speaking from Experience team held nationwide in-person and online sessions with victim-survivors. The team also invited audio or written submissions.
The design of the project was informed by a victim-survivor advisory group, trauma and violence-informed practice experts, and a range of end-users that included advocates, researchers, regulators and industry bodies.
From community centres to parks and local legal centres, over 300 people with lived experience provided their expertise, making this a powerful addition to the national evidence base on workplace sexual harassment (WSH).
The 11 recommendations developed by the AHRC from the information shared by contributors fall into five over-arching principles for action –
- reduce barriers to information
- reduce barriers to safety
- reduce barriers to victim-survivors being heard
- reduce barriers to workers accessing support after being harassed
- reduce barriers to justice and accountability
The report includes direct quotes from the project contributors, giving insight to the intersecting forms of discrimination or disadvantage that often create barriers to keeping workers safe from, or enable the reporting of, incidents of workplace sexual harassment. Many contributors spoke about what justice means to them.
Workplace sexual harassment is often accompanied with silence. This report aims to be an antidote to this silence, giving voice to contributors who want to be heard on matters that affect their work and wellbeing.
Contributors stressed that secure work conditions, characterised by fair contracts, financial stability, and robust worker protections, are foundational to addressing work related sexual harassment. Ensuring that workers, particularly those from marginalised groups, are not forced to choose between their safety and their livelihood is a critical step towards safer, fairer workplaces. It is also a step towards more inclusive workplaces.
Read the report: Speaking from Experience Report - What needs to change to address workplace sexual harassment