Sexual harassment still rampant at Victoria Police: report

Discrimination and sexual harassment are still commonplace across Victoria Police, with female officers subject to leering and bullying from their colleagues, according to a damning report revealing gender inequality in the force.

Sexual harassment is still rampant across Victoria Police and angry victims say senior cops tasked with championing gender equality are instead “part of the problem”.

One in four women have been sexually harassed at police stations across the state in the past three years, with many subjected to sexually suggestive comments, leering, unwelcome physical contact and inappropriate questions about their private lives.

But half of the force doubts senior leaders are taking the problem seriously, according to a bombshell report from the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission.

The force has agreed to the report’s far-reaching strategies to promote women, which include giving recruits more time to meet physical standards and offering lactation breaks.

Five years since ex-top cop Ken Lay asked the commission to investigate Victoria Police’s culture, its third and final ­report has found the force has failed to bring in a victim-centric disciplinary system for ­perpetrators despite the “compelling and urgent need”.

Women in the police force have been subject to sexually suggestive comments and leering. Picture: Eugene Hyland

Just 10 per cent of victims reported their harassment, and almost all of those were unhappy with the results, saying they had been ostracised, bullied and joked about by colleagues and managers.

One woman said details of her private life were shared to discredit her.

While the commission says there is an “emerging story of positive change” within Victoria Police, its report also reveals:

SIX recruits were forced to leave the Victoria Police Academy after behaving inappropriately towards women.

SEX discrimination was ­experienced by 17 per cent of staff, including pregnant women told to forget about promotions or being moved to jobs below their experience.

THE gender pay gap has narrowed but women are on average still paid about $8000 less than men.

ONLY 30 per cent of police ­recruits were women last year — after the force met its 50-50 target in 2015.

NEW women in policing committees — mentoring about 300 staff — experienced a “backlash” and were dubbed “women’s gossip” groups.

New women in policing committees have faced discrimination.

The commission has led an interim “restorative justice” scheme for harassment victims that has paid compensation to 14 people and delivered statements of regret to another 11.

VEOHRC commissioner Kristen Hilton said Victoria Police had been through a “painful reckoning” and that change would take years.

Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton said widespread changes had been made to better protect employees and provide a safe, inclusive, respectful workplace.

PLEDGE TO STAMP OUT ‘HYPERMASCULINITY’

Victoria Police will give recruits who don’t meet its stringent physical standards more time to get fit as part of a bid to raise the number of women in its ranks.

The force will also pursue targeted career development for women only and hire and promote officers on the basis of their empathy, ethics and ­interpersonal skills.

Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton has committed to achieving equal numbers of men and women in Victoria Police by 2030 and rid the force of its “hypermasculine” culture.

He has accepted 15 recommendations from a damning review into Victoria Police by the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission.

The review found 46 per cent of men and 74 per cent of female staff said gender equality reform was necessary.

Other steps on Victoria Police’s “change journey” ­include more flexible work, ­allowing women to take lactation breaks and encouraging men to take parental leave.

The review found 46 per cent of men and 74 per cent of female staff said gender equality reform was necessary.

Victoria Police has also committed to only hiring, promoting and retaining leaders who “demonstrate a commitment to gender equity”.

Equal Opportunity Commissioner Kristen Hilton said the commitments reflected a move away from “the idea that a policeman should be a tough full-time male”.

“Gender should not be an obstacle,” she said.

The report shows that while progress is being made towards addressing gender inequality, sexual harassment and discrimination are rife.

The report says 25 per cent of women and 9 per cent of men in Victoria Police are sexually harassed at work, with men making up 72 per cent of the perpetrators.

Victoria Police also remains a male-dominated organisation, with women making up only 31 per cent of officers and 30 per cent of recruits.

Since 2015 there’s been a 19 per cent decrease in the number of female police ­recruits and discrimination ­remains a “persistent issue”.

Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton has committed to achieving equal numbers of men and women in Victoria Police by 2030 and rid the force of its “hypermasculine” culture.

The report notes that efforts to address gender equity had led to a “significant backlash against women’s promotions, with widespread perceptions that women were being promoted only because of their sex/gender”, despite there being “no credible evidence”.

Acting Victoria Police ­Assistant Commissioner Lisa Hardeman said the physical standards and requirements of a recruit were not changing.

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“However, we will be looking at how we can better acknowledge and increase focus on other skills that applicants can offer including empathy, ethical decision-making, communication and interpersonal skills,” she said.

Having an organisation that “understands women’s experiences and how power can be abused makes police better placed to respond to gendered violence and abuse”, she said.

— Victoria Police employees who have experienced discrimination or harassment can make a complaint to the Commission on 1300 292 153 or via humanrightscommission.vic.gov.au