YOUNG
WOMEN
AND
SEXUAL
HARASSMENT
10
August
2010
As
debate
sparked
by the
David
Jones -
Mark
McInnes
-
Allanah
Hill
controversy
continues
to
simmer
across
Australia,
a South
Australian
study to
be
released
this
week
shows an
alarming
pattern
of
harassment
by men
in
positions
of
authority
against
young
women
employees.
In what
is
believed
to be an
Australia
first,
young
women
under 30
have
been
surveyed
about
instances
of
sexual
harassment
in their
workplace
- and
the
results
are
confronting.
South
Australian
Young
Workers
Legal
Service
will
present
its
findings
to the
Women
and IR
Conference
in
Darwin.
Amongst
its case
studies
and key
conclusions:
-
Harassers
almost
exclusively
male
bosses,
managers,
company
directors
and
business
owners.
-
Harassers
commonly
older
than
their
targets
- in
some
cases
the
age
gap
was
"profound"
with
harasser's
targets
the
same
age
as
their
own
children.
-
Harasser's
access
to
information
about
their
target
can
lead
to
intrusion
and
even
stalking.
-
Harassment
is
sometimes
accompanied
by
mistreatment
and
abuse
such
as
underpayment
of
wages,
fallacious
rumours,
pressure
to
take
drugs
and
unwarranted
criticism
about
work
performance.
The
survey
further
found
that
many
clients
felt
unsure
about
taking
action,
and that
more
than a
quarter
subsequently
withdrew
their
complaint.
SA
Unions
Secretary,
Janet
Giles
says it
is a
damning
indictment
of
workplace
culture
and the
failure
on the
part of
those in
positions
of
authority
who
abuse
that
trust
despite
the
blatantly
illegal
nature
of their
behaviour.
Paper
presented
by Anne
Purdy
and
Nadine
Levy,
Young
Workers
Legal
Service
at the
Conference
