Former public servant speaks out about sexual harassment in state service

The author of a 1995 report into sexual harassment responds to new survey lifting the lid on misconduct in the workplace.

The author of a 25-year-old investigation into sexual harassment in Tasmania’s state service says it is “disheartening” but not surprising that more than two thirds of current female public servants say they have been subjected to inappropriate behaviour at work.

Kathryn Barnsley, a former equal employment opportunity officer, was the senior consultant who led the 1995 Review of Sex Discrimination and Sexual Harassment in the Tasmanian State Service.

She is speaking out following the release of a damning new survey conducted by the Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU), which showed that 68 per cent of women in the public service had experienced at least one “unacceptable” behaviour on the job, including verbal abuse, jokes of a sexual nature, physical aggression, and invasion of personal space.

The survey attracted 601 respondents. There were 23,713 female employees working in the state service in 2020-21.

“Although it’s a long time since I worked in government … the attitudes [towards women] … keep going,” Dr Barnsley, a two-time state Labor candidate, said.

Dr Kathryn Barnsley, of Kingston.

“It is disheartening but it is also a lever to keep going, to not give up. There are very strong women and men who are concerned about this sort of thing and who are continuing to make efforts to overcome problems.”

Dr Barnsley’s report found that 700 women and men in the state service were subjected to a form of sexual harassment in 1994, and about 80 per cent of those people did not lodge a formal complaint.

The report made a number of recommendations, including a review of the Tasmanian State Service Act and the enactment of anti-stalking legislation.

“There was awareness that there was a problem and there were efforts made by management to reduce the problem even then,” Dr Barnsley said. “That’s nearly 30 years ago.”

A state service spokeswoman previously told the Mercury that “no workplace aggression is acceptable” but the recent CPSU survey findings did not track with Tasmanian State Service Employee Survey results.

Dr Barnsley said while many structural barriers had been torn down in the fight to achieve gender equality in the workplace, the key was to effect cultural change.

“Dealing with culture within the state sector [should] be a priority,” she said.

“I didn’t recommend that in my report because I didn’t understand at that time, sufficiently, that it was the culture as well as the structural reforms that were needed.”

Women lift lid on unwanted touching, workplace threats

More than two thirds of women working in Tasmania’s public service say they have experienced inappropriate behaviour on the job, including physical aggression, unwanted touching, and discriminatory comments, a damning new survey has found.

The state branch of the Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU) canvassed 601 female workers for their views, finding that 68 per cent had been subjected to at least one “unacceptable” behaviour and 39 per cent had been subjected to more than one.

These behaviours ranged from verbal abuse and jokes of a sexual nature to unwelcome physical contact and invasion of personal space.

CPSU general secretary Thirza White said the results of the survey were “shocking” and the state service needed to urgently address the issue.

CPSU general secretary Thirza White.

“We need to ensure workplaces are safe from occupational violence, protect against vicarious trauma and have functional processes for making complaints and raising issues around inappropriate conduct,” she said.

“The CPSU women’s survey revealed that women working in our public sector are dedicated, talented and hardworking but feel undervalued, with 49 per cent considering a move to work elsewhere.”

Ms White said many women in the public sector were the sole income earners in their household and needed a pay rise to help them keep up with the rising cost of living.

The survey also found that 14 per cent of respondents had received a threat of harm in their workplace and 11 per cent said they did not feel physically safe at work.

There were 23,713 female employees working in the state service in 2020-21, equating to 70.9 per cent of the total state service workforce.

Tania Shilcock, a State Growth Department employee and a CPSU delegate, is the sole breadwinner in her household and said juggling work with commitments at home was difficult at the best of times.

“The survey reflects what I live personally,” she said. “And talking to other women, these are very, very common issues.”

A state service spokeswoman said every employee had a right to feel safe in their workplace and that “no workplace aggression is acceptable”.

“We would welcome an opportunity to work with the CPSU in relation to the survey outcomes, and invite them to share the results of this survey with us because they are not consistent with previous Tasmanian State Service Employee Survey results,” she said.

There were a range of measures in place in the state service to minimise the risk of violence in workplaces, the spokeswoman said, including de-escalation training and reporting against the Our Watch equality and respect standards.

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