Fifth national survey on sexual harassment in Australian workplaces

The Australian Human Rights Commission has launched the findings of its fifth national survey of sexual harassment in Australian workplaces.

The survey revealed that one in three workers (33 per cent) experienced sexual harassment at work in the last five years. Women (41 per cent) were far more likely than men (26 per cent) to experience workplace sexual harassment, and more than three quarters of harassers were men (77 per cent). The survey also found that reporting of workplace sexual harassment remains alarmingly low at only 18 per cent.

The survey, Time for respect: Fifth national survey on sexual harassment in Australian workplaces, comes four years after the previous national survey found similar rates of workplace sexual harassment.

The survey provides vital information about the scale of workplace sexual harassment and the need for prevention and response initiatives. It was conducted with over 10,000 people aged 15 years or over, using a sample that is representative of the Australian population in terms of gender, age and geographic location.

The Commission conducted and reported on similar sexual harassment surveys in 2003, 2008, 2012 and 2018.

The survey is published as the federal government, industries and workplaces are continuing to implement all 55 recommendations from the Commission’s landmark Respect@Work Report. This is expected to reduce rates of sexual harassment in Australian workplaces.

More information

View the full report here: https://humanrights.gov.au/time-for-respect-2022