Managing risk and reporting sexual harassment

6 March 2024

Worksafe ACT was recently notified of an incident of a worker reporting sexual harassment in an office workplace. They experienced multiple and ongoing instances of sexual harassment from the same co-worker before reporting the harassment to their manager. The worker had delayed reporting the offender due to them having a close personal relationship with the manager.

Survey data indicates that almost 1 in 10 workers experience sexual harassment, with 50% of people who reported sexual harassment saying it occurred on more than one occasion.

PCBUs (person conducting a business or undertaking) have a duty to ensure they adequately control the risk of sexual harassment in the workplace. This includes having reporting mechanisms that are suitable for the workplace and are understood by workers.

The risk of sexual harassment in the workplace should be managed the same as any other workplace hazard using the four-step risk management process.

  1. Identifying hazards
  2. Assessing risks
  3. Controlling risks
  4. Reviewing controls

IDENTIFYING AND ASSESSING SEXUAL HARASSMENT

As the PCBU, you must take steps to identify how, where and when sexual harassment could happen in your workplace. When identifying sexual harassment risks you should:

  • Talk with your workers about what work-related sexual harassment is and whether they have experienced it. Be mindful that workers may want to only talk about behaviours privately and may use different terms to describe exposure to these hazards.
  • Use anonymous employee surveys like the People at Work Survey, and other hazard identification tools.
  • Observe your workplace layout i.e. isolated work areas, entrances and exits of the workplace.
  • Be aware of the demographics of your workforce that could make workers more vulnerable i.e. gender, age, experience level.
  • Review any relevant information you might have, such as:
    • sick leave patterns
    • WHS (Work Health Safety) complaints
    • internal investigations and processes
    • exit interviews.
  • Be aware of high risk hazards your workers may be at risk of e.g. working alone, working at night, or the service of alcohol.

Once you, as the PCBU, have identified how, where and when the risk of sexual harassment may occur, and who might be affected, you can assess the risks.

When assessing the risks, you should consider the duration, frequency, and severity of exposure:

  • Duration – how long is the worker exposed to the risk?
  • Frequency – how often is the worker exposed to the risk?
  • Severity – how severe is the harassment?

CONTROLLING AND REVIEWING SEXUAL HARASSMENT

Once you, as the PCBU, have identified and assessed the risk of sexual harassment, you must take steps to control the risks.

You must always aim to eliminate a hazard first. For example, you could remove the risk of sexual harassment through safe design of the workplace, ensuring there are no opportunities for it to occur.

Where the hazard cannot be eliminated, you must then minimise the risks so far as is reasonably practicable using control measures. For example, you could:

  • Ensure there are secure facilities at the workplace.
  • Provide internal and external lighting that is motion activated out of hours or at night.
  • Install communication, security, or duress systems.
  • Prevent public access to certain areas of the workplace.
  • Avoid situations where workers are working alone.
  • Implement clear workplace policies and procedures.
  • Provide adequate supervision.

This process is known as the hierarchy of controls, and it helps duty holders select the most appropriate control with the highest level of protection.

The control measures you have in place should be reviewed regularly and in some circumstances a review is required by the WHS Regulations.

REPORTING SEXUAL HARASSMENT

As a worker, if you are sexually harassed you should:

  • Report it to a manager, supervisor, health and safety representative or human resources or use the reporting processes at your workplace immediately or as soon as you are able.
  • Seek support (including psychological support) from a colleague, helpline, counselling service, legal service or employee representative.
  • Keep a record of what happened, when and where it happened, who was involved and anything else you think may be important.

You can also talk to the Police about sexual harassment you have experienced.

If any person experiences or witnesses sexual assault, they should notify ACT Policing on 131 444, or 000 if it is an emergency.

Sexual assault is a notifiable incident and must be reported to WorkSafe ACT.

FURTHER INFORMATION

For more information:

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