Culture key to stopping workplace harassment

THE first day in the civil compensation case against former David Jones chief Mark McInnes over alleged sexual harassment caused a sensation.

This, when counsel for Kristy Fraser-Kirk (the woman making the allegations) claimed during the first day of the directions hearing that eight more women had come forward to accuse McInnes of improper conduct.

David Jones corporate affairs manager Helen Karlis did not believe any of the new claims had been raised directly with the company, and information about the nature of the allegations was thin on the ground.

The judge bluntly warned lawyers on both sides of the case not to use the courtroom as a media centre, and ordered counsel for Fraser-Kirk to file an amended statement of claim in about two weeks time -- before McInnes files his defence.

No doubt when the court case resumes the media interest will spike again.

Putting to one side the particulars of this case, the issue of sexual harassment in the workplace doesn't receive the attention it should, given how often it occurs.

In 2008, an Australian Human Rights Commission telephone survey found that, despite sexual discrimination legislation having been in place for nearly a quarter of a century, 22 per cent of females and 5 per cent of males had experienced some form of sexual harassment in the workplace.

Just stop and think about those figures for a moment -- for women in particular.

More than one in five females between 18-64 years of age has experienced sexual harassment in the workplace.

The figures showed a small but encouraging decline in incidents since the previous survey five years earlier -- down from 28 per cent for women and 7 per cent for men -- but the most concerning aspect of the 2008 results was that only 16 per cent of employees who had suffered sexual harassment actually reported it, half the percentage who did so five years earlier.

That suggests more needs to be done to convince women they don't need to suffer in silence.

The decline in reporting of sexual harassment could mean that people, women in particular, are becoming more tolerant of harassment in the workplace.

That can only mean more workers are functioning in conditions that make them uncomfortable. If that is the case, productivity suffers and workplaces become less collegial.

It may be a case of women throwing up their hands and doubting whether it is worth their while to complain, unsure that the system will support them.

Australia has been identified as the hardest-working nation on earth -- a study by the Australia Institute last year found that Australians on average worked 200 hours more each year than people overseas -- so we should have a particular interest in making workplaces more hospitable.

Australian Sex Discrimination commissioner Elizabeth Broderick on her website describes defines sexual harassment as "any unwanted or unwelcome sexual behaviour which makes a person feel offended or humiliated".

It may include suggestive comments or jokes, or repeated requests for dates.

There really are two forms of sexual harassment -- that which is obviously wrong and involves highly offensive conduct that in any situation would never be appropriate, and actions that while inappropriate, aren't always obviously so to the person in the wrong.

The former category is easily identified and stamped out in most workplaces (hopefully), but the later, arguably a lesser evil, isn't necessarily less unpleasant for those on the receiving end.

For example, what might be seen as a reasonable attempt at flirtation can make the person on the receiving end feel uncomfortable, thereby making it unwanted and potentially offensive.

And when someone in a workplace setting has attempted to ask a colleague out on a date -- even when no offence was caused -- everyone involved needs to be careful not to let the incident affect reviews, promotions and general workplace entitlements.

When that occurs, what might have been a simple case of an unwelcome advance easily rebuffed without consequence can turn into something far more sinister, damaging another person's career and opportunities in life.

All workers need to understand that what might be considered reasonable flirting outside the workplace may not be taken that way by the person on the receiving end of such actions in the workplace.

Unlike at a bar, where someone can politely decline an advance and just walk away, never having to see or speak to the person again, in a workplace ongoing contact is often unavoidable.

The criterion by which sexual harassment is legally judged is subjective. The test is not the intent of the accused but the way the action is received. You can't always know how someone else will react to a sexual advance, and because sexual harassment can occur in one-off situations, alleged perpetrators can't rebut charges by saying they learnt from their one mistake.

The obvious solution is to avoid office romances, but that isn't always possible. For many people, their workplace colleagues form a large component of their social network, and the chance for two people to pursue a personal relationship even if they have a professional relationship is a basic right of being an adult.

Companies and employers must take the issue of sexual harassment seriously. If the David Jones case has taught businesses anything, it is that a company seen not to have adequate mechanisms in place for dealing with alleged sexual harassment can suffer brand damage when such claims become public.

There is no doubt a workplace culture that actively encourages people who feel harassed to express their feelings will deter inappropriate behaviour, as well as reassuring those who fall victim to sexual harassment.