Research commences for 5th National Survey on Workplace Sexual Harassment

The Australian Human Rights Commission is currently conducting the 5th National Survey on Workplace Sexual Harassment.

The survey takes place around every four years and is our nation's key source of information on the prevalence, nature and reporting of sexual harassment in Australian workplaces.

The data aims to inform Australia's ongoing response to this issue, providing evidence to enable employers, policymakers and advocates to develop more effective responses to workplace sexual harassment.

The last survey in 2018 found that one in three workers in Australia had been sexually harassed at work over the previous five years, and that formal reporting of sexual harassment was low with only 17% of people making a report or complaint. 

This year’s survey will provide a valuable measure of the extent to which workers are continuing to experience sexual harassment in their workplaces since the previous survey was conducted. 

This year’s survey will also build on the momentum generated by the Commission’s ground breaking Respect@Work report from 2020 which provided recommendations to improve how Australian employers prevent and respond to sexual harassment.

Roy Morgan Research is conducting the survey by phone and online over the next 4 weeks, surveying approximately 10,000 people.

The results are expected to be released in November.

Find out more about the Australian Human Rights Commission’s work in relation to sexual harassment here: https://humanrights.gov.au/our-work/sex-discrimination/projects/past

Contact: media@humanrights.gov.au or 0457 281 897.