Legal and Ethical Implications of Workplace Sexual Harassment

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of sexual harassment in the workplace, addressing the legal and ethical obligations of employers and the responsibilities of company directors and CEOs. It examines the impact of sexual assault on employees, particularly women, and highlights the need for robust policies, complaint cells, and crisis response plans. The report discusses the legal framework under the Australian Corporations Act, emphasizing the directors' fiduciary duties and the consequences of failing to prevent or address sexual harassment. It analyzes a case study involving a model and a photographer, exploring the roles of the HR department, legal counsel, and the need for public apologies and transparency. The report underscores the importance of creating a safe and respectful work environment, implementing anti-sexual harassment policies, and ensuring that the company takes responsibility for its actions. It also mentions the importance of making a public declaration, conducting internal investigations, and punishing wrongdoers to restore public trust and prevent future incidents. The report highlights the severity of the issue, citing statistics on sexual violence in Australia and emphasizing the need for stringent laws and proactive measures to stop harassment before it starts. The report emphasizes that the former directors are also responsible for the conduct of the company.

Running head: SEXUAL HARASSMENT
Sexual Harassment
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Sexual harassment at workplace is a growing concern in most corporate across the globe.
Women are subject to assault and harassment at workplace by people working with them under
the same roof. Sexual harassment is a violation of human rights and the basic rights of safety of
every employee who has been subject to such heinous crime (Sahgal & Dang, 2017). There has
been a growing concern over the safety of women at workplaces. Sexual harassment is also a
violation of the safety and health of employees. The employees have protested vehemently
terming this as an attack on their safety and privacy. This warrants that State authorities take
proper precaution so that this problem is nipped at the bud and this does not grow into a big
issue. It is the responsibility of the State to ensure that women are not treated this way and there
needs to be stricter punishment for anyone who indulges in such crimes. Sexual harassment is
not only a woman centric issue but women are mostly at the receiving end of such violence
(Menssink et al., 2016). Sexual offenders get scot free because women do not have the heart to
report such issues for fear of losing their job and mostly these violence go unnoticed. Therefore,
to address the issue and make sure that women come forward and complain, the state authorities
have established helpline numbers which will aid the women to complain. The helpline aids the
victims to report sexual offences at workplace (Aman et al., 2016). This is a staggering number
which means that half the women population in Australia has been sexually assaulted (Bell,
2016). This has led women to resign and leave secure and high profile jobs because they did not
feel safe their anymore.
The survey conducted states that 19% of women who have been sexually assaulted have
quit their job because they felt threatened. Another survey conducted in the year 2017 by the
Government revealed that 85% population comprising women and men have been sexually
assaulted in a hospitality industry. This number indicated that women and men over time have

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been subject to extreme violence and assault. The moment a woman enters the workplace she
fears that she will be assaulted and this impacts her psychologically as well as morally
(Bainbridge, Perry & Kulik, 2018). These harassments take place in the workplace where women
are supposed to feel safe and be under the authority of corporate ethics and governance. On one
hand women are growing like men in their professional field and they are accomplishing, but on
the other hand, these assaults are threatening them to quit their job and stay back. These are scary
numbers because they show the level of violence that women have to undergo in the community
(Gorman, 2016). The level of threat and insecurity are growing everyday but the same happening
at workplace is distraught with violence and discrimination.
1. In the present case Gabrielle is one of the members of the Board and she has received a
complaint from the hr that the model has faced sexual assault by the photographer who
has touched her inappropriately. Gabrielle, being a woman knows the plight of fellow
women who have to undergo assault at workplace. Being the director of the company, she
is obligated to ensure that the people working under her are safe and do not face any
sexual assault (McDonald, Charlesworth & Graham, 2015). The employer has a legal and
ethical obligation towards the people who are employed under them. In cases the director
receives any complaint, the director is mandated by the Code of Ethics and Governance
that he investigates the claims of sexual harassment. Having heard the complaint from the
HR, she has to check the veracity of the claim and then keep the information confidential
because it is a very private complaint which should not be known to the public
(Llewellyn et al., 2018). Every workplace should have a complaint cell and a redressal
cell which shall deal with the complaints and try to resolve and punish the offender in
cases the crime is proved. There needs to be a robust compliance cell that will aid and

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abet the victims into filing complaints. In this case, the complaint was received from the
model that the photographer has assaulted her. As the manager, she has to make the
factual determination and then make the employees known that there is a no-retaliation
policy and the identity of the victim shall be preserved (Henning et al., 2017). The
director has to also involve the counselor who will take up the matter legally and assist
the model to file the case in the court. If it is seen that the photographer has breached the
codes of ethics, he shall be penalized and also made to resign. The in house shall be made
to handle the case at no cost and also has to ensure that the victim’s safety is preserved.
2. Gabrielle is the new CEO of Fox Productions Pty Ltd and she is a competent director
who has worked previously with many newspaper agencies and has gained enough
qualification to handle the matters of the company (Bainbridge, Perry & Kulik, 2018).
She received the complaint about sexual assault in the company meted to a model by one
of the company’s employees. After hearing the complaint, the matter was taken up by the
directors and a meeting was held where the photographer vehemently denied that he has
anything wrong. Having heard both sides of the story, Gabrielle was convinced that the
photographer had committed the assault and therefore held that he had breached the code
of conduct and also the employment contract. in the light of the current situation where
the model has gone out and given an interview to the local newspaper about the assault,
the reputation of the company is at stake (Scott et al., 2017). The fact that a woman was
assaulted at that company will give potential risk to women who will be scared to work at
that company. Even though the photographer has been held to be in breach of his duties
that he owed to the company, the interview has given a bad reputation of the company in
the public domain. Sexual assault and harassment is a held as a complete fault of the

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company directors and it is held that the company has not taken enough precaution to
preserve the rights of the employees. It is incumbent on the director and the CEO to make
a public declaration that they take the responsibility of their mistake and that they will
enhance their ethics policy and keep an anti-sexual harassment cell where stringent laws
will be applied to those who break the conduct and also harm the workers. After
receiving the feedback from all the other employees, it is clear that a sexual assault is
going on and that women’s safety are at stake. Therefore, the company has to make
strong policies so that no one can dare to inflict such harm and violence on fellow
employees. The company has to ensure that the public is not dissatisfied with the conduct
of the company and they do not lose any goodwill. In this regard, it is the responsibility
to let the public know that they have devised a crisis response plan where all the
complaints will be redressed and the offender shall be punished. The company should
ensure that the company is well equipped to handle such situations and respond very
quickly to these situations. It is the sole responsibility of the company to condone sexual
harassment and once a news of sexual assault has been made public, it becomes very
difficult for the managers and the directors to better their position. Therefore, to better the
public relations, it is important that the company accepts that there has been an incident
and that the company is working towards punishing the offender and also has set up
committees that will make sure that the workplace becomes free of such incidents.
Apology wins hearts and restores the faith that is lost by the public once news like sexual
harassment comes out. Therefore, the directors need to hold a press conference to
apologize whole heartedly and profusely. The CEO needs to give a public declaration that
the shameful incident will not be repeated and that the CEO will individually conduct an

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investigation and punish the wrongdoer. The CEO is the sole authority and the decision
maker who has to win the confidence of the public and therefore it can be done by
accepting publicly that the company understand the trauma of the victim and supports her
through the grueling process.
3. Sexual offence is not limited to physical assault but also verbal comments, sneering that
happen at workplace that are humiliating and also rob the women of their self esteem.
One way to stop this is the employers owned up their mistakes and refrained from
indulging in such activities (Salman & Saleem, 2016). Therefore, if stringent laws are in
place, it will easy to stop the violence before it starts. In Australia there is a growing high
level of violence on women including passing off hand remarks that hurt their prestige,
stalking, intimidating them. So much so that women are raped by people who have an
authority over them. In Australia, to gauge the situation, a survey was conducted on
women so that they could share their experiences, and the survey shocked the
government because more than 50% women claimed that they have been subject to
sexual violence and assault. The director and the CEO are the sole authorities in the
company who shall be responsible for the conduct of the board. CEO being the officer
and the key managerial personnel is responsible for the conduct of the employees. The
director has responsibilities under the Corporations Act to act in good faith and also
maintain a fiduciary relation with the employees. The CEO and the manager are at full
charge of the company and therefore if a sexual harassment takes place in the company,
the directors shall be held responsible for breach of their duties. By virtue of holding the
position, he is duty bound to act in the best interest of the company and the employees. In
such situations, whenever it is found that the employees are indulging in offences which

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are against the code of ethics and business policies, the director ahs to step up and
penalize the offender. The CEO has to discharge his duties and is duty bound to take full
charge of any incident that happens under his supervision. Gabrielle was the CEO of the
company and since the assault took place in his presence, he shall be held accountable.
The duties of the directors involve that there shall be fairness in the administration of the
business and in cases when the board fails to take proper charge, the CEO shall be held to
be breaching the statutory obligations that he owes to the company. Under the Australian
Corporations Act, there are strict guidelines that punish the director of they fail to stop
sexual harassment at workplace. The aim of the statute is to protect the best interests of
the company and that has to be done by following proper company guidelines. The
former directors are also responsible for the conduct of the company. By virtue of section
170(2) of the Corporations Act, it is clearly stated that even though the director ceases to
be a director he shall be responsible to the company. Therefore, the director does not
cease to be a director and has to follow the obligations of a director. The director shall not
cease to be a director even though he has left, making him obligated to perform his duties
under the Corporations Act. Therefore, a former director is responsible to the conduct the
duties and is subject to the duties of the director.

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