Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) — My adjournment matter is for the Minister for Consumer Affairs, Gaming and Liquor Regulation. The action I am seeking is in relation to Victoria’s liquor licensing and responsible service of alcohol training. Last week I had the pleasure of meeting a really impressive woman, Nikki Keating, who founded Respect Is the Rule, a campaign around protecting hospitality staff from sexual harassment in the workplace.
When we come to work, we do so with pretty strong confidence that we are going to do that fairly safely, but a staggering 89 per cent of young women working in hospitality report being sexually harassed at work, and many have reported not only harassment but also assault. The problem seems to be that customers forget that they are in someone’s workplace: it is their place of relaxation and entertainment, and they forget that it is someone else’s place of work.
I just want to share some of the examples that hospitality workers have reported — things like, ‘How do you get that arse in that skirt?’. One woman said, ‘My boss tried to make a $100 bet on what colour underwear I was wearing’. Another example was, ‘My boss would always ask me uncomfortable questions regarding my sex life’. It goes on. Examples include things like: ‘I had men grab my arse, come around the bar and get too close’; ‘My manager followed me into the women’s bathrooms’; and ‘Customers would make me feel … uncomfortable by making inappropriate sexual jokes and looking me up and down’. These are things that none of us would expect or indeed tolerate in our workplace.
Nikki has been bringing together a lot of hospitality workers to join her in making venues safe for everyone. They have been getting dozens of venues to sign a Respect Is the Rule pledge to create safe and respectful environments for their staff. I think this is a great idea; it is a great initiative. Where I think we could really do some work is in incorporating some sexual harassment and respectful relationships training into our responsible service of alcohol training, so that everyone who is going to work in hospitality who undergoes this training learns not only how to serve alcohol responsibly but also how to act responsibly in their workplace.
REPLY:
Sexual harassment in any workplace is unacceptable.
Employers and their employees working in licensed premises in Victoria are subject to the law regarding sexual harassment in the Equal Opportunity Act 2010.
The purpose of Responsible Service of Alcohol training is to equip managers and staff supplying alcohol in licensed venues with the skills to do so in a responsible manner in accordance with the liquor laws in this state. It is not intended to cover all issues that may arise in licensed premises or relieve the employer of their obligation to provide a safe harassment-free workplace for their staff.
The issue of sexual harassment in licensed venues has been raised with government in the context of patron safety at live music events.
My department, together with Creative Victoria, is funding a pilot sexual harassment and sexual assault program for licensed live music venues. This pilot program will include staff training and providing venue-based promotional material. An independent evaluation of the program will be undertaken.