duty of care
Employers have a common law duty of care for the physical and psychological health and safety of their employees. This common law duty of care is reinforced by occupational health and safety legislation.

gender vilification
Generally vilification can be defined as a public act that incites physical harm, hatred, severe ridicule, serious contempt, offense or humiliation, based on a personal circumstance or characteristic, for example skin colour, race, religion, ethno-religious origin, or homosexuality. The debate about how to protect women from the negative impact of gender vilification has started to gain momentum and it should be noted that Tasmania’s Anti-Discrimination Act covers gender vilification.

sex discrimination - direct
It is direct sex discrimination to treat a person, or group of people less favourably due to the following characteristics or circumstance – sex, pregnancy, potential pregnancy, marital status, family or carer responsibilities. Harassment on the basis of any of these grounds, as well as sexual harassment can also fall under direct sex discrimination (see sex-based harassment and sexual harassment).

sex discrimination - indirect
Indirect sex discrimination is the outcome of the application of a policy, rule, condition, practice or decision that may appear fair and neutral at the outset, but results in one person or a group of people, being treated less favorably or suffering more detriment than another group due to sex, pregnancy, potential pregnancy, marital status, family or carer responsibilities. 

sex-based harassment
Sex-based harassment covers unwelcome workplace actions, behaviour, language and decisions, on the basis of sex, pregnancy, potential pregnancy, marital status, family or carer responsibilities, that result in offense, humiliation or intimidation. Sex-based harassment also covers sexual harassment. The harassment can be written, visual, oral or physical. A person can be harassed 

• as a direct recipient of the behaviour,
• as a witness to the behaviour, or
• as a person required to work in an environment that is permeated by sexist or sexual innuendo or conduct.

sexual harassment
Sexual harassment is any unwelcome sexual advance, or request for sexual favours, or any other unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature, be it written, visual, oral or physical, that makes a person feel offended, humiliated, or intimidated, and where that action is reasonable in the circumstances.

victimisation
To victimise is to subject a person to any physical harm, detriment or threat because the person, in relation to any sex discrimination, sex-based harassment or sexual harassment matter

• has made a complaint,
• is proposing to make a complaint,
• has made a complaint on behalf of another person,
• has acted as a witness to a complaint,
• is planning to act as a witness to a complaint, or
• has been a support person for a complainant.

workplace
A workplace is a place or venue at which a workplace participant (see below) works or performs the functions that they are engaged to undertake, including for example a building site, an office, a ship, a restaurant, a plane, an educational institution, a hospital, a retail outlet, a medical surgery or a television studio. 

workplace participant
An employer, board member, manager, supervisor, employee, volunteer worker, commissioner agent, contract worker, consultant working on site, or partner in a partnership will qualify as a workplace participant. A person’s employment status i.e., whether they qualify as full-time, part-time, temporary, casual, an apprentice or a trainee is irrelevant.

Return to Sex based Harassment Solution Tool Homepage.