Confidential interviews with staff at the NSW parliament have lifted the lid on what a report has described as a boozy, predatory boys’ club.
Almost 450 people working at the parliament were interviewed as part of the review by former sex discrimination commissioner Elizabeth Broderick.
The report reveals how the offices of certain MPs and ministers are known to be “hotspots”, ruled by aggressive and abusive elected members who bully, micro-manage and gaslight staff, with devastating consequences.
Here are some of the findings detailed in the report:
‘It’s a bit of a boys’ club’
Some of the comments described a sexist culture pervading the parliament, where MPs are heard making lewd comments about female colleagues and staff.
“It’s a bit of a boys’ club. There’s sexting in the parliament,” one staff member said.
“Conversations in front of junior members of staff about which staff member the MPs would like to have sex with.
“Like locker room talk. I was shocked.”
Another woman surveyed said there was a power imbalance and it was commonplace for MPs to use their position to manipulate and abuse young staff.
“It’s very normalized, the MP and chief of staff sleeping with junior staff,” she said.
“I did not observe coercion but there was absolutely taking advantage.
“It felt like the 1970s, old rich white men employing these beautiful young women in their 20s.”
Eighty-two per cent of people sampled in a study conducted by Victoria University have reported experiencing at least one form of interpersonal violence when participating in community sport as a child.
Key points:
Three-quarters of respondents said they had experienced psychological violence or neglect in children’s sport
Seventy-three per cent experienced violence from their peers, and 66 per cent said they had from a coach
Women experienced higher rates of sexual and psychological violence, as well as neglect
The survey, which is the most comprehensive of its kind in Australia, asked 886 adults whether they had experienced physical, sexual or psychological violence, as well as neglect, from either coaches, peers or parents during childhood.
Seventy-six per cent said they had experienced psychological violence or neglect, 66 per cent reported physical violence and 38 per cent reported sexual violence.
One in three respondents, meanwhile, said they had experienced all four forms of violence.
The respondents had participated in a large variety of sports, with nearly 70 represented.
Seventy per cent of respondents experienced physical and psychological violence from a peer. (Designed by The Infologist for Victoria University)
While such large numbers may come as a surprise to some, study co-author Mary Woessner said she was not shocked.
“From the literature, and knowing what’s happening internationally, I would say that’s right about what we were expecting,” Dr Woessner told the ABC.
“One of the first things you need to create change, positive change, is generate understanding that there’s a problem.
“We just want people to know it exists, so we can make evidence-based decisions to change it.”
Dr Woessner’s co-author, Aurélie Pankowiak, explained that the survey asked participants about explicit examples of violence they may have experienced in a sporting context.
Aurélie Pankowiak co-authored the study with Mary Woessner.(ABC News: Andie Noonan)
For neglect, for example, participants were asked if they had experienced being refused time off for medical injuries.
For psychological, participants were asked whether they had been insulted, threatened or humiliated (for example by being bullied, given an unwanted nickname violence or otherwise ostracised).
“We had very concrete examples of different types of violence, so we did not leave it up to the person’s interpretation of whether or not what they experienced was violent,” Dr Pankowiak said.
Women are participating in the workforce at a higher rate than ever before in Western Australia but they still face the biggest gender pay gap in the country, a report has found.
Key points:
The report says female participation in the WA workforce is at 64.5 per cent
But the gender pay gap is still 7.5 per cent higher than the national figure
Reports of violent and sexual assaults by family members have increased
The WA government’s 2022 Women’s Report Card — which measures the health, safety, economic independence and leadership opportunities of the state’s women — says female participation in the workforce is the highest it has ever been.
The report shows female participation in the workforce has reached 64.5 per cent, a rise of more than 3 per cent since 2007.
Among these working women, just over 50 per cent are employed full-time, compared with 82.6 per cent of men.
Female participation in the WA workforce is up to more than 64 per cent, the report says.(ABC News: Cason Ho)
The report also reveals changing attitudes on gender roles.
