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The under-reporting of sexual harassment in Australian workplaces: are organisational processes falling short?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 June 2020

Therese MacDermott Open the ORCID record for Therese MacDermott [Opens in a new window]
Therese MacDermott*
Affiliation:
Macquarie Law School, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia
*
*Author email: Therese.macdermott@mq.edu.au.
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Abstract

Sexual harassment is persistent, prevalent and under-reported in Australian workplaces despite its legal regulation over many decades. The most recent survey data in Australia indicate that the majority of individuals who are subject to sexual harassment at work do not make a formal report or lodge a complaint. The opportunity for voice that organisational processes provide to those who experience sexual harassment at work is a particular focus, given the under-reporting problem. The paper also considers the impact of organisational processes on those who observe the inappropriate behaviour and/or the organisational response. Ultimately, this paper argues that organisations should reduce their reliance on individual complaints by expanding the pathways by which concerns can be raised or observed behaviours addressed that offer alternative voice mechanisms, with an emphasis on problem-solving and early intervention where this is appropriate. The paper also considers different communications strategies, such as approaches to training, the sharing of information about workplace incidents, and leadership on the issue within organisations.

Keywords

workplace sexual harassmentcomplaintsorganisational processes
Type
Research Article
Information
Legal Studies , Volume 40 , Issue 4 , December 2020 , pp. 531 - 547
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of The Society of Legal Scholars

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Footnotes

†

This research was funded by the Australian Research Council's Discovery Project funding scheme (DP1701009600: ‘A Relational Theory of Procedural Justice’).

References

1 For the most recent survey see Australian Human Rights Commission Everyone's Business: Fourth National Survey on Sexual Harassment in Australian Workplaces (2018). Prior surveys were conducted by the AHRC in 2003, 2008 and 2012.

2 Australian Human Rights Commission Respect@Work: National Inquiry into Sexual Harassment in Australian Workplaces (2020). See also House of Commons Women and Equalities Committee Sexual Harassment in the Workplace, Fifth Report of Session 2017–2019 (2018).

3 See for example C Nelson et al ‘Organisational responses for preventing and stopping sexual harassment: effective deterrents or continued endurance’ (2007) Sex Roles 811 at 811.

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8 AHRC, above n 1.

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11 Ibid, p 86.

12 Ibid, p 79.

13 Ibid, pp 80–81.

14 Ibid, p 82.

15 Ibid, p 83.

16 Ibid, p 46.

17 Ibid, p 31.

18 Ibid, p 27.

19 Ibid, p 99.

20 Ibid, p 107.

21 Ibid, p 77.

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27 See Employment Services Australia Pty Ltd v Poniatowska [2010] FCA 1043 at [68].

28 Ibid.

29 AHRC, above n 1, p 100.

30 See campaign sponsored by the Australian Human Rights Commission, the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Australian Council of Trade Unions, Sexual Harassment: Know Where the Line Is (2014), available at https://www.humanrights.gov.au/about/news/sexual-harassment-know-where-line (accessed 28 May 2020).

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37 Green, above n 32, p 1.

38 Ibid.

39 MacDermott, above n 36, at 500; Parker, above n 4, at 169.

40 Thornton, above n 35, at 435.

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43 D Steiner and M Bertolino ‘The contributions of organisational justice theory to combating discrimination’ (2006) 10–11 Cahiers de l'Urmis [6].

44 Ibid [2].

45 J Colquitt ‘On the dimensionality of organisational justice: a construct validation of a measure’ (2001) Journal of Applied Psychology 386; Blader, S and Tyler, T ‘What constitutes fairness in a workplace setting: a four component model of procedural justice’ (2003) 13 Human Resources Management Review 107CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

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47 Richardson v Oracle Corporation Australia Pty Ltd [2013] FCA 102; on appeal [2014] FCAFC 82.

48 [2014] FCAFC 82.

49 [2013] FCA 102 at [48].

50 [2013] FCA 102 at [193]; confirmed on appeal [2014] FCAFC 82 at [34].

51 [2013] FCA 102 at [62].

52 [2013] FCA 102 at [68].

53 See Bies, R and Tyler, T ‘The litigation mentality in organizations: a test of alternative psychological explanations’ (1993) 4 Organization Science 352CrossRefGoogle Scholar; A Lind et al ‘The winding road from employee to complainant: situational and psychological determinants of wrongful termination claims’ (2000) Administrative Science Quarterly 557; Goldman, B ‘Towards an understanding of employment discrimination claiming: an integration of organisational justice and social information processing theories’ (2001) 54 Personnel Psychology 361CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

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55 See for example Angelakos v Coles Supermarkets Aust Pty Ltd [2019] FWC 29; NSW Attorney-General's Department v Miller (2007) 160 IR 185.

56 AHRC, above n 1, pp 80–81.

57 Nelson et al, above n 3, at 812. On the limitations of polices themselves see Hertzog, J et al. ‘There's a policy for that: a comparison of the organisational culture of workplaces reporting incidents of sexual harassment’ (2008) 17 Behavior and Social Issues 169 at 177CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Magley, V et al. ‘Changing sexual harassment within organizations via training interventions’ in Burke, R and Cooper, C (eds) The Fulfilling Workplace: The Organization's Role in Achieving Individual and Organizational Health (Burlington, Vt: Routledge, 2013) p 241Google Scholar.

58 See for example Prasad, V ‘If anyone is listening, #metoo: breaking the culture of silence around sexual abuse through regulating non-disclosure agreements and secret settlements’ (2018) 57 Boston College Law Review 2507Google Scholar; Blackham, A and Allen, D ‘Resolving discrimination claims outside the courts: alternative dispute resolution in Australia and the United Kingdom’ (2019) 31 Australian Journal of Labour Law 253Google Scholar.

59 Thornton, above n 35, at 423.

60 [2013] FCA 102, [88].

61 Tyler and Lind, above n 54.

62 Thibaut, J and Walker, L Procedural Justice A Psychological Analysis (Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum, 1975)Google Scholar.

63 See the work referenced by Tyler and Lind, above n 54, at 122.

64 See for example Good, L and Cooper, R ‘Voicing their complaints? The silence of students working in retail and hospitality and sexual harassment from customers’ (2014) 24(4) Labour and Industry 302CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Charlesworth et al, above n 4.

65 Harlos, above n 31.

66 [2013] FCA 10 at [88].

67 Charlesworth et al, above n 4, at 154; Charlesworth et al, above n 22, at 285; Quinn, B ‘The paradox of complaining: law, humour, and harassment in the everyday work world’ (2000) 25 Law and Society Inquiry 1151 at 1171CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Fitzgerald, L et al. ‘Why didn't she just report him? The psychological and legal implications of women's response to sexual harassment’ (1995) 51(1) Journal of Social Issues 117CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Good and Cooper, above n 64; Milliken, F et al. ‘An exploratory study of employee silence: issues that employees don't communicate upwards and why’ (2003) 40(6) Journal of Management Studies 1453CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

68 Klaas, above n 26, at 318; Milliken et al, ibid, at 1473.

69 Klaas, above n 26, at 323.

70 Ibid, at 319.

71 S Chappell and L Bowes-Sperry ‘Improving organisational responses to sexual harassment using the giving voice to values approach’ (2015) Organisational Management Journal 236 at 245.

72 Saldana v John Danks and Sons Pty Ltd [2009] VCAT 448 at [32]. See also Walgama v Toyota Motor Corporation Australia Ltd [2007] VCAT 131.

73 Richardson v Oracle Corporation Australia Pty Ltd [2013] FCA 102 at [163].

74 At [176].

75 At [174].

76 See for example Colquitt, above n 45; Blader and Tyler above n 45.

77 Bies, R ‘Interactional justice: looking backwards, looking forwards’ in Cropanzano, R and Ambrose, M (eds) The Oxford Handbook of Justice in the Workplace (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2015) p 3Google Scholar.

78 Ibid, p 13.

79 T Allan ‘Procedural fairness and the duty of respect’ (1998) 18 Oxford Journal of Legal Studies 497 at 500.

80 Above n 5, at 465.

81 See for example Barmes, L Bullying and Behavioural Conflict at Work: The Duality of Individual Rights (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2015) p 195CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

82 [2013] FCA 10 at [43].

83 Charlesworth, S ‘Risky business: managing sexual harassment at work’ (2002) 11(2) Griffith Law Review 353 at 373Google Scholar.

84 Green, above n 32, pp 146–147.

85 Barmes, L and Ashtiany, S ‘The diversity approach to achieving equality: potential and pitfalls’ (2003) 32 Industrial Law Journal 274 at 281CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

86 Sturm, above n 22, at 462–463.

87 Barmes, above n 81, p 183.

88 See for example the employer's obligation as a person in control of a business undertaking (‘to eliminate risks to health and safety’ as far as is ‘reasonably practicable’ under the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (NSW), s 17).

89 Above n 7.

90 AHRC, above n 2, p 757.

91 AHRC, above n 2, p 767.

92 Barmes, above n 81, p 209.

93 Green, T and Kalev, A ‘Discrimination-reducing measures at the relational level’ (2007) 59(6) Hastings Law Journal 1435 at 1438Google Scholar; Bisom-Rapp, above n 24, at 44–46.

94 S Sturm and H Gadlin ‘Conflict resolution and systemic change’ (2007) Journal of Dispute Resolution 1 at 56.

95 AHRC, above n 2, p 694.

96 Sturm and Gadlin, above n 94, at 4. In the context of the UK positive public sector equality duty, the designated consultation with stakeholders has been described as requiring a participative and deliberative process: Mandredi, S et al. ‘The public sector equality duty: enforcing equality through second-generation regulation’ (2018) 47(3) Industrial Law Journal 365 at 395Google Scholar.

97 AHRC, above n 2, pp 683–687.

98 See Rubino et al, above n 6, p 7; Timmermann, G, and Bajema, C ‘The impact of organizational culture on perceptions and experiences of sexual harassment’ (2000) 57 Journal of Vocational Behavior 188, p 203CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

99 Rubino et al, above n 6, at 6.

100 Barmes, above n 81, p 242.

101 Richardson v Oracle Corporation Australia Pty Ltd [2013] FCA 102 at [163].

102 Saldana v John Danks and Sons Pty Ltd [2009] VCAT 448 at [32]. See also Walgama v Toyota Motor Corporation Australia Ltd (Anti-Discrimination) [2007] VCAT 131.