SAPOL Review

In 2016, South Australia Police (SAPOL) commissioned the Commissioner for Equal Opportunity to undertake a review about the nature and the extent of sex discrimination, sexual harassment and predatory behaviour in SAPOL and make recommendations to address it.

All current SAPOL staff, including sworn and non-sworn employees, volunteers and those who had left SAPOL in the last 12 months, were invited to take part in the review.

They were asked to give their views on good practices as well as issues or concerns about what they had seen, heard or experienced.

Survey responses were received from almost 2,000 people and 53 face-to-face interviews conducted.

Recommendations

The Commissioner made 38 recommendations to help evolve a culture in SAPOL where gender equality is simply part of how business is done.

It will also ensure that when people make a complaint about harassment or discrimination, their voice will be heard loud and clear.

SAPOL Review - summary and recommendations (PDF, 6.0 MB)

SAPOL Review - full report (PDF, 4.4 MB)

SAPOL's implementation progress was monitored over three years.

Methdology

All current SAPOL staff aged over 18 years, including both sworn and unsworn employees, volunteers and staff who have left SAPOL in the last 12 months were invited to take part in the Review.

The Review acknowledges that anyone can experience sex discrimination and sexual harassment in the workplace and that people may experience it differently.

The Review wanted to hear from all staff regardless of their sex, gender identity or sexual preference. To provide a contemporary picture, the Review focused on experiences from the last five years.

Information was gathered using:

a confidential and anonymous online survey
confidential one-on-one interviews
confidential written submissions
de-identified SAPOL data
observing SAPOL work and training places
a review of legislation, policies and prcedures.

Sexual Harassment

Legally, sexual harassment is defined as any unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature, where it is reasonable to expect that the other person would be offended, afraid or humiliated. Both men and women can sexually harass and be harassed by either sex.

Sexual harassment is determined from the point of view of the person feeling harassed. It does not matter how the behaviour was intended. What matters if the effect on the other person. Sexual harassment can be:

unwelcome touching or kissing
commenting on a person's appearance
comments, jokes or name-calling
leering or staring
sexual pictures, objects, emails, text messages or literature
direct or implied propositions, or requests for dates
asking about a person's sexual history or sexual activities

Mutual attraction or friendship with consent is not considered sexual harassment.

Sex Discrimination

Sex discrimination for the purpose of the Review is when a person is treated less favourably because of their gender identity. It is also sex discrimination when there is a rule or policy that is the same for everyone but has an unfair effect on people of a particular sex.

Sex discrimination includes all forms of gender-based discrimination, for example, discrimination based on pregnancy, parental responsibilities, breastfeeding, sexual orientation, gender identity, intersex status, part-time status and access to flexible working arrangements.

Predatory Behaviour

Predatory behaviour is the misuse of authority or influence with the intention of exploiting others for sexual or other personal gratification. For the purpose of the Review was sexual harassment perpetrated by someone in authority or influence over the victim.

A Reference Group was established to provide advice to the Review Team on:

The conduct of the project at key milestones
The promotion of the Review
Approaches to maximising staff engagement
Addressing issues emerging during the Review
The clarity, usefulness and factual accuracy of key documents, including the staff survey
The practicality of recommendations to achieve intended outcomes.