21/08/2026
This week, we were involved in conducting an investigation into allegations of sexual harassment within a fairly large organisation of more than 500 employees.
What was particularly disheartening during the witness interviews was hearing that there had been numerous incidents of harassment, yet many employees were unclear about how to report it and, more concerning, some were afraid to do so.
We heard comments such as:
⚠️ “I’m only a cleaner. Who will believe me?”
⚠️ “The person harassing me is more senior. No one will believe me.”
⚠️ “I didn’t know how to raise it.”
⚠️ “I’m a contractor. I’m not employed by the company, so I didn’t know I could say anything.”
In 2026, this is incredibly disheartening to hear.
It highlights that, despite the legislation and policies that are in place, employers still have a long way to go when it comes to creating workplaces where people feel safe, supported and confident to report harassment.
Awareness is still needed.
People need to understand what harassment is, who they can report it to, and most importantly, that their position, seniority, employment status or length of service should never determine whether their concerns are heard.
Under the Code of Good Practice on the Prevention and Elimination of Harassment in the Workplace, everyone in the workplace is entitled to dignity and respect including all employees regardless of hours worked, contractors, interns, apprentices and consultants.
Harassment should never be normalised. Silence should never be the only option. Let's all do our bit to raise awareness and stop normalising harassment in the workplace.
