Respect@Work website provides “one-stop-shop” for businesses on how to stamp out sexual harassment

The Respect@Work Council has launched a new website informing employers how best to eliminate and respond to sexual harassment in the workplace, as lawmakers consider legislation that would give businesses a positive duty to prevent sex discrimination on the job.

The respectatwork.gov.au website was designed as a “one-stop-shop” for business owners hoping to create safer and more inclusive workplaces, the Respect@Work Council said Wednesday.

It includes explainers on the causes of sexual harassment in the workplace, including deep-rooted gender inequality and the perpetuation of harmful stereotypes, along with tips on how to create a more inclusive corporate culture.

Organisations can also access fact sheets on their rights and responsibilities around creating safe workplaces and minimising the risk of sexual harassment.

For those who have experienced sexual harassment at work, the site provides information on how to access crisis support services, lodge formal complaints with industrial relations bodies, file compensation claims, and more.

The site also provides advice for workers who witness sexual harassment on the job.

Sex discrimination commissioner Kate Jenkins says the site “will help employers meet their obligations to provide safe environments for workers, free from sexual harassment, with better access to protection and support”.

The site has emerged as the Albanese government moves to legislate seven recommendations of the landmark Respect@Work report not completed by the Morrison government.

Among them is the creation of positive duty on employers, compelling them to create safe and inclusive environments instead of waiting for worker complaints before taking action.

“Many employers already provide supportive responses when harassment occurs, but that is not enough — all employers also have a responsibility to actively prevent harassment happening in the first place, and this website will support those actions,” Jenkins added.

The digital initiative comes two weeks after the federal government used its 2022-23 federal budget to commit $42.5 million to implement recommendations of the landmark Respect@Work Report.

In addition to funding for Working Women’s Centres across the map, it includes $2.1 million to “establish a one-stop shop for workplace sexual harassment information, including about victims’ rights, complaint options, support service referrals and employer responsibilities”.

It also assigns $5.8 million to help support education and compliance measures associated with the introduction of that positive duty on employers “to take reasonable and proportionate measures to eliminate sex discrimination, sexual harassment and victimisation as far as possible”.

A further $2.6 million will go towards initiatives that confidentially document the experiences of victims of historical sexual harassment in the workplace.

Another $32 million will flow to Working Women’s Centres in every state and territory, designed to provide “advice, information and advocacy to workers on gender-based workplace issues, including sexual harassment”.