Time to Step Up and Expose Predators

The opinion piece first appeared in The Advertiser (Adelaide) on 6 February, 2018.

The outrage over allegations that Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein sexually abused literally dozens of women sparked a global furore. How could it be that that there were so many victims over such an extended period of time and none of them came forward until recently? Surely someone must have witnessed these atrocious acts or heard about them from others?

Closer to home, we were left reeling by allegations that, Don Burke, arguably one of our favourite sons and a highly powerful person in the Australian entertainment industry, was ensnared in vulgar and sinister behaviour over a protracted period.  

It’s now over thirty years since the Sex Discrimination Act (SDA) came into force which many believed would heal the scourge of sexual harassment and exploitation in the Australian community and our workplaces.

The SDA covers a myriad of inappropriate and often repugnant behaviours including leering, unwelcome physical touching, suggestive comments or jokes, unwanted requests for sex, along with criminal activities such as sexual assault.

Yet despite strong measures to outlaw sexual harassment, and a heightened awareness of it, pundits argue that sexual harassment in our community remains rife.

With the deployment of the Australian Human Rights Commission’s 2018 fourth National Workplace Sexual Harassment Survey imminent, many in the community will be bracing themselves for adverse results. While formal complaints of sexual harassment waiver each year, in 2006/07 there were 186 reported complaints and in 2017 there were 247. 

And these figures only represent “the tip of the iceberg” with some experts predicting that only a quarter of those afflicted actually lodge formal complaints. 

Adding grist to the mill, hundreds of Australian women and men have recently shared their experiences of sexual harassment via a two word hashtag, #metoo, on social media to demonstrate the prevalence of these types of behaviour in the community, and especially in the workplace.

While many are hopeful that the recent high profile media around cases of sexual harassment in both the global and local arenas is just what the doctor ordered in terms of raising awareness to reduce the incidence of sexual harassment, most experts on the subject argue that awareness is only one part of the jigsaw puzzle.

Yet another piece of that same puzzle is staring us in the face. 

There are, after all, a group of people who have actually been complicit to sexual harassment incidents by observing it in action and who have chosen to turn a blind eye. Equally there are a group of bystanders who have heard of an incident after it occurred and failed to take action.

And here’s the rub: evidence is mounting to suggest that the majority of bystanders do not take action. 

Now, just like authorities rely on all community members to be the “eyes and ears of the street” to combat crime, we need every community member to summon up the courage to expose those who have sexually harassed others.

Just think about it for a moment. The many bystanders who have observed sexual harassment and not taken any action have given offenders unlimited continuing authority to execute their abhorrent behaviours. They have, albeit unwittingly in most instances, contributed to embedding a culture of depravity in our workplaces and in our broader community.

Of course, many onlookers have their reasons for not reporting sexual harassment. They might be ignorant to exactly which behaviours constitute sexual harassment, fear that they will be the subject of reprisal, or feel that those in leadership positions will not act on their complaints. 

It’s time to change that! Those in leadership positions must increasingly make it clear what actions or behaviours constitute sexual harassment. They need to increase awareness that sexual harassment is not acceptable, and they must encourage all bystanders to take action if this scourge is to be reduced and eventually eradicated. 

It goes without saying that any leader rejecting these responsibilities is akin to being an architect of a decaying Australian community.

Professor Gary Martin is Chief Executive Officer, the Australian Institute of Management WA.