Reporting Sexual Harassment At Work

Reporting sexual harassment at work is usually designed as a process and experienced as one conversation.

Someone tells a manager, tentatively, often framed as wanting advice rather than making a complaint. What that manager does in the next ten minutes decides whether the matter is dealt with or disappears.

The responses that end it there are recognisable. Asking whether they are sure. Explaining that the person did not mean it. Offering to have a quiet word. Saying it will be difficult to prove. Promising confidentiality that cannot be kept.

What works is narrow. Listen, write down what was said, explain what happens next and what the person controls, do not investigate on the spot, and do not promise an outcome.

Managers need this specifically. It is not covered by general awareness training.

The Australian Human Rights Commission publishes guidance. This is general information rather than legal advice, and obligations vary by state and territory.

See Sentrient’s sexual harassment course for managers and incident reporting software.