NATIONAL SURVEY ON SEXUAL HARASSMENT IN AUSTRALIAN WORKPLACES

DASHBOARD METADATA

Collection Type Survey

Geographic Coverage National

Frequency Ad-hoc

Data Availability Detailed publication / report publicly available

CONTACT DETAILS

Data custodian: Australian Human Rights Commission
Telephone: (02) 9284 9600 - National Information Service: 1300 656 419 - General enquiries and publications: 1300 369 711
Web Address: https://www.humanrights.gov.au/

DESCRIPTION

The National Survey on Sexual Harassment in Australian Workplaces, conducted by the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC), collects information on the prevalence, nature and reporting of sexual harassment in Australia, with a focus on workplaces.

The most recent survey undertaken by the AHRC was in 2018, with previous surveys conducted in 2003, 2008 and 2012.

The survey measured people’s experiences of sexual harassment over the course of their lifetimes and within the last five years, including:

• the prevalence and nature of sexual harassment experienced by Australians aged 15 years and older across their lifetime (at any time or anywhere);
• the prevalence and nature of sexual harassment experienced by Australians aged 15 years and older in the workplace (in the last 5 years and within the last 12 months);
• the perpetrators of workplace sexual harassment;
• characteristics of workplaces where harassment occurs;
• the industries where harassment occurs;
• the reporting of workplace sexual harassment and the outcomes of complaints;
• the impacts of workplace sexual harassment on those who experience it;
• the responses of people who witnessed or heard about sexual harassment in their workplaces; and
• Australians’ levels of awareness of where they can access information about sexual harassment.

COLLECTION HISTORY

Collection commenced: 2003
Break in series: None
Other details:

COLLECTION METHODOLOGY

The 2018 National Survey was conducted both online and by telephone with a sample of over 10,000 Australians drawn by random digit dialling (RDD) to recruit individuals with a fixed landline telephone at home, while individuals with a mobile telephone only were recruited through a research database.

SCOPE AND COVERAGE

The scope included people aged 15 years and over. For workplace sexual harassment, the scope included anyone who had been in the workforce at any time in the last five years.

DEFINITION OF FAMILY AND DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

N/A

DEFINITION OF SEXUAL VIOLENCE

The 2018 National Survey measured the prevalence of sexual harassment in two ways:

1. By providing respondents with a simplified legal definition of sexual harassment and asking them whether they have ever been sexually harassed (legal definition), and
2. By providing respondents with a list of behaviours likely to constitute sexual harassment and asking them whether they had experienced these behaviours (behavioural definition).

The majority of the data are based on the behavioural definition. Survey respondents were asked whether they had ever experienced any of the following behaviours in a way that was unwelcome:

• unwelcome touching, hugging, cornering or kissing;
• inappropriate staring or leering that made you feel intimidated;
• sexual gestures, indecent exposure or inappropriate display of the body;
• sexually explicit pictures, posters or gifts that made you feel offended;
• repeated or inappropriate invitations to go out on dates;
• intrusive questions about your private life or physical appearance that made you feel offended;
• sexually explicit comments made in emails, SMS messages or on social media;
• inappropriate physical contact;
• repeated or inappropriate advances on email, social networking websites or internet chat rooms;
• being followed, watched or someone loitering nearby;
• sexually suggestive comments or jokes that made you feel offended;
• sharing or threatening to share intimate images or film of you without your consent;
• indecent phone calls, including someone leaving a sexually explicit message on voicemail or an answering machine;
• requests or pressure for sex or other sexual acts;
• actual or attempted rape or sexual assault; and
• any other unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature that occurred online or via some form of technology.

DATA AVAILABILITY AND DISSEMINATION

Detailed report available.

PUBLICATIONS

Everyone’s business: Fourth national survey on sexual harassment in Australian workplaces:

https://www.humanrights.gov.au/our-work/sex-discrimination/publications/everyone-s-business-fourth-national-survey-sexual

HOW THE STATISTICAL COLLECTION INFORMS NATIONAL DATA INITIATIVES

This section provides an overview of if/how the statistical collection informs or aligns with key initiatives relating to family, domestic, and sexual violence statistics. These assessments are not an ABS endorsement or indication of data quality, but are intended to assist readers in determining whether the data will meet their data needs.

Relationship to 'Defining the Data Challenge for Family, Domestic, and Sexual Violence'

The summary table below is designed to indicate whether the data source informs the six statistical elements outlined in Defining the Data Challenge for Family, Domestic and Sexual Violence, 2013 (cat. no. 4529.0).

FDV - Family and domestic violence data
SV - Sexual violence data

STATISTICAL ELEMENTS	DATA AVAILABILITY
Context	SV
Environmental factors	SV
Psycho-social factors	SV
Risk	SV
Community prevalence	SV
Community incidence
Incident/Experience	SV
Characteristics of incident	SV
Responses	SV
Formal responses	SV
Informal responses	SV
Impacts/Outcomes	SV
Programs, Research, and Evaluation

Relationship to the 'Foundation for a National Data Collection and Reporting Framework for Family, Domestic, and Sexual Violence'

The three tables below provide an indication of which data items can be informed by the data source. The data items have been conceptually grouped into the key information units - Person, Event, and Transaction - as described in the Foundation for a National Data Collection and Reporting Framework for Family, Domestic, and, Sexual Violence, 2014 (cat. no. 4529.0.00.003).


PERSON

FDV - Family and domestic violence data
SV - Sexual violence data

DATA ITEMS	DATA AVAILABILITY
	Victim/Respondent	Perpetrator	Secondary victim
Socio-demographic	SV	SV	SV
Sex	SV	SV
Age	SV	SV
Indigenous status	SV
Cultural and linguistic diversity	SV
Marital status
Disability status	SV
Employment status	SV
Educational attainment
Socioeconomic status	SV
Mental health
Other	SV sexual orientation; occupation; industry; composition of workplace	SV number of perpetrators	SV whether sexual harassment of others in workplace occurred

EVENT

FDV - Family and domestic violence data
SV - Sexual violence data

DATA ITEMS	DATA AVAILABILITY
Location	SV
Home/residential location
Workplace/place of study	SV
Public transport
At a place of entertainment or recreation
Other public place
Other	SV social area; social event; work station; meeting; offsite; work facility; other
Relationship	SV
Current partner/spouse
Previous partner/spouse
Boyfriend/girlfriend/date
Parent
Child
Sibling
Other relative/family member
Other known person
Stranger
Other	SV head of workplace; direct manager; other manager; co-worker; client/customer; other
Other characteristics	SV
Weapon use
Alcohol/other substance involved
Physical injuries sustained
Hospitalisation
Other	SV behaviours experienced; duration and frequency of harassment; number of perpetrators; whether harassment witnessed; number of witnesses; relationship to witnesses; whether anyone intervened; actions taken by intervener; whether offended; whether intimidated; consequences; formal complaint; actions taken; satisfaction with handling of complaint; organisational changes

TRANSACTION

FDV - Family and domestic violence data
SV - Sexual violence data

DATA ITEMS	DATA AVAILABILITY
Detection and prosecution
Police
Courts
Corrections
Other
Formal support	SV
Police	SV
Doctor/other health professional
Counsellor/social worker/mental health professional	SV
Legal/financial service	SV
Refuge/shelter/resource centre
Government housing/community services
Other	SV head of workplace; direct manager; other manager; HR manager; sexual harassment officer; co-worker; union representative; Australian Human Rights Commission; fair work ombudsman; reasons why didn’t seek support; reasons why didn’t make a formal complaint
Informal support	SV
Friend/family member	SV
Pastoral care	SV
Helpline
Other	SV internet; other sources of information about sexual harassment