ABS crime data released in February showed the number of sexual assault offenders has risen 13 per cent in the last decade. During the same period there was a 22 per cent increase in the number of female survivors reporting sexual assault.

Since 2003, the Australian Human Rights Commission has conducted four periodic surveys on the national experience of sexual harassment. The 2018 survey showed that sexual harassment in Australian workplaces is widespread and pervasive with one-third of people experiencing sexual harassment at work in the past five years. The survey also revealed almost 39 per cent of women have experienced sexual harassment in the workplace over this time, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people were more likely to have experienced workplace sexual harassment than people who are non-Indigenous (53% and 32% respectively).

When it comes to sexual violence, harassment and bullying in the workplace, you might expect - at the very least - our government institutions and agencies would provide leadership in responding to and preventing this violence. You might think it reasonable that a gold standard in workplace safety would be reflected in our parliament houses and local councils. Unfortunately, this is simply not the case.

Last week allegations of sexual assault, harassment and bullying were revealed in an investigation into the workplace culture at NSW's Parliament House. The Independent Review exposed a "devastating" workplace culture with "disturbingly high" instances of sexual assault and harassment. The report revealed more than one-third of respondents to a survey of NSW Parliament workers had been bullied or sexually harassed over the past five years.

Similarly, one-third of people working in Federal Parliament have experienced sexual harassment. In November 2021, the Australian Human Rights Commission released its Independent Review into Commonwealth Parliamentary Workplaces called 'Set the Standard'. The review found 51 per cent of workers experienced at least one incident of bullying, sexual harassment or actual or attempted sexual assault.

What about local government? Our local councils: Wollongong City Council, Shellharbour City Council and Kiama Municipal Council? Unlike Parliament House, we all know people who work in these organisations, we interact with them every day. Surely closer to home, away from the corridors of power and the driver of alcohol in the workplace, the situation isn't so bad?

A 2020 audit into sexual harassment in local government in Victoria unfortunately found similar statistics to those outlined above. Upon examining nine councils, it found more than one-quarter of survey respondents had experienced workplace sexual harassment in the last 12 months and 90 per cent said it happened as part of their day-to-day work.

In 1984, the Australian Government introduced the Sex Discrimination Act, which specifically prohibits sexual harassment at work and established the role of Australia's Sex Discrimination Commissioner. Since that time, successive Sex Discrimination Commissioners have identified the elimination of workplace sexual harassment as a key priority. Yet here we are.

Sexual harassment at work is not inevitable. It is preventable. Under the Equal Opportunity Act 2010 employers must take reasonable and proportionate measures to eliminate sexual harassment in their workplaces. In addition, positive duties under work, health and safety laws require "persons conducting a business or undertaking to do all they reasonably can to prevent sexual harassment from occurring at work, just like other risks to health and safety".

Under these frameworks, all workplaces should proactively create an environment in which people can disclose sexual violence, bullying and harassment without fear. The Victorian audit, the reviews of NSW and Commonwealth Parliament and the Respect@Work: Sexual Harassment National Inquiry Report released in 2020 all show we still have a very long way to go.

Sexual harassment and bullying represent a significant material risk to an organisation and should be treated accordingly. As the risk of fraud and corruption is minimised within a risk management strategy that includes annual independent financial audits, the risk of sexual harassment and bullying should be minimised through regular systematic audits.

The Illawarra Women's Health Centre is calling on the three local councils in the Illawarra to provide leadership in the protection of employees by doing just this: Introduce a regular independent audit of sexual harassment and sex-based discrimination as a risk management strategy in its governance framework.

Local government and everything it represents is integral to the community in which it leads and supports; they represent us, they are elected by us. It cannot be understated: councils are an important part of our daily lives and some of the largest employers in the region. We at the Illawarra Women's Health Centre call upon Wollongong, Shellharbour and Kiama councils to recognise the very real risks, especially to women, in the local government workplace and lead Australia by being the first councils to introduce independent and regular sexual harassment and bullying audits.