In response to Recommendation 4 of the Respect@Work: National Inquiry into Sexual Harassment in Australian Workplaces report, ANROWS established the 2021–2024 Sexual Harassment Research Program to contribute to a national evidence base on sexual harassment to guide policy and practice.
The ANROWS Sexual Harassment Research Program is an opportunity to expand knowledge and understanding of women’s safety from harassment and violence in the workplace. This evidence base will be critical to policymakers and practice design decision-makers as they maintain the momentum of our current moment to improve women’s safety and opportunities.
ANROWS CEO, Padma Raman said, “The combined works of this newly launched research program provide depth to our existing evidence base with ground-breaking new projects examining the experiences of some of our society’s most precarious workers, such as migrant and refugee women, LGBTQ young people and those working in the retail sector. It is these people whose work is so often non-permanent, contracted or casualised that currently face the least protections to harassment in their workplaces. As we continue to adjust to life in the time of COVID-19, explorations of technology-facilitated sexual harassment will be pivotal across all sectors.”
The five projects funded under the program are:
• “Migrant and refugee women’s attitudes, experiences and responses to sexual harassment in the workplace”, led by Associate Professor Marie Segrave, Monash University
• “Understanding and addressing sexual harassment in the Australian retail sector”, led by Professor Rae Cooper AO, University of Sydney
• “Sexual harassment of LGBTQ young people in the workplace and at workplace training sites”, led by Professor Kerry Robinson, Western Sydney University
• “Technology-facilitated sexual harassment in the workplace: Perpetration, responses and prevention”, led by Associate Professor Asher Flynn, Monash University
• “Process and impact evaluation of the Respect@Work Council”, led by ANROWS
Collectively, the projects in the research program will examine the nature, impacts and appropriateness of current responses to sexual harassment; the risk and protective factors associated with workplace sexual harassment; and the effectiveness of existing strategies for prevention and response.