On 28 November 2022, the Federal Government passed the Anti-Discrimination and Human Rights Legislation Amendment (Respect at Work) Bill 2022, bringing important legal changes in the area of discrimination, human rights and gender equality, including a positive duty to eliminate unlawful discrimination on the ground of sex, sexual harassment or harassment on the ground of sex, hostile work environments and acts of victimisation. Compliance with the new laws is mandatory.

The legislative changes passed by our federal government are significant to ensuring safer workplaces. These changes go a long way to changing the way we speak about and act on gendered violence at work and in the community. However, meeting core legal obligations is just the beginning.

Gendered violence disproportionately affects women. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), 53 per cent of women and 25 per cent of men have experienced sexual harassment in their lifetime. As a young woman of a culturally diverse background, I was in a high-risk category to experience gendered violence.

On 30 November 2022, the Australian Human Rights Commission released their report, Time for Respect: Fifth National Survey on Sexual Harassment in Australian Workplaces (Report).

The Report suggests that sexual harassment disproportionately affects persons who identify as LGBTIQA+, persons with a disability, persons from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, and persons under the age of 29.

Gendered violence is a workplace and community issue

Helping workplaces navigate issues of discrimination and harassment is personal for me and has informed my approach in advising on these issues. At the age of 25, I escaped domestic violence with the help of my best friend. Just after lunchtime, I left my home in Brisbane whilst my former partner was at work, and drove away in my Suzuki Alto, with my Maltese Shih Tzu puppy, and all the clothes I could fit in my car.

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In my situation, my experience of gendered violence was inextricably linked to my workplace. After all, one of my first experiences of physical violence was because I applied for a job “without permission”, and when I did report the violence, speaking up had implications for my workplace and community involvement. When groups of women spoke up with me, they too faced consequences for having the courage to do this.

It was because of gendered violence that I was granted special leave, spent weeks couch surfing with friends, lived out of a suitcase, completed my studies to requalify as a lawyer, and ultimately left Brisbane to enable my transition to private legal practice in Melbourne.

My story serves as an example of why it’s important for workplaces to consider the real-life implications following a workplace incident and their role in addressing the unique complexities of each situation.

Making workplaces safe and equitable goes beyond compliance, and collaborating with experienced advisers can make a positive difference both to the life of the survivor and the culture within the workplace.

Workplace leadership commitment is key 

As recently stated by lawyer and advocate Tarang Chawla, eradicating violence “starts at home by modelling gender-equal behaviours (and) at work by increasing women’s representation across all levels of society”.

Structural barriers to equality still exist, and this is particularly the case for people of diverse backgrounds. Only last month, Women On Boards released their report, Truth Be Told, Cultural Diversity on Australian Boards, which shows that only 12.8 per cent of board members are non-Anglo Celtic, despite more than 50 per cent of Australia’s population being either born overseas or being first-generation Australians.

To lead the charge internally, the involvement of staff from all levels is essential. At Macpherson Kelley, I’ve seen this supported by the Executive team, Board, DEI committee and stakeholders from L&D, HR and Marketing.

In going through a recruitment process at Macpherson Kelley, these key themes of diversity, inclusion and safety at work rang true. They also rang true in internal conversations, and in a recent retreat for our senior associates and special counsel.

What can workplace leaders be doing in this space?

Workplace leaders such as directors, managers, HR, people leaders, and learning and development leaders play an essential role in leading the charge for change.

A “whole-of-organisation” approach to proactively addressing gendered violence is essential. This includes addressing key drivers of workplace inequality.

In my own way, over the past few months, I’ve been developing and conducting training on workplace psychological safety and sexual harassment, and have conducted approximately 30 training sessions for employers, service providers, HR, people managers, operations managers and managing directors, whilst assisting in the developing their risk assessments, policies, and procedures.

What can workplaces be doing now?

Some key considerations for employers and workplace leaders are:

• Start with awareness: Ensuring workplace leaders and workers are aware of their rights and obligations under Federal and State laws;
• Identify, assess, control and monitor: Consider whether there is the potential for violence and aggression in your workplace, assess the likelihood of the harm that could occur, and control the risks (e.g., via policies, procedures, training, management), as well as monitoring the effectiveness of these control measures;
• Address structural inequality: Assess the structural barriers to workplace equality and consider how to address these in your workplace (e.g., the gender pay gap, pay equity, women in leadership, caring responsibilities, parental leave, flexible work for men and women, recruitment and promotion, gender and cultural diversity in leadership, and family violence).

Sapphire Parsons is a senior associate in the Employment, Safety and Migration Team at Macpherson Kelley. She recently won the Rising Star of the Year Award at the Lawyers Weekly Women in Law Awards.