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Legislative Council - Fifty-Third Parliament, Second Session (53-2)
2017-08-08 Daily Xml
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Police, Sexual Harassment

The Hon. S.G. WADE (14:54): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Police questions relating to sexual harassment in the South Australian police force.

Leave granted.

The Hon. S.G. WADE:The Advertiser of Monday 31 July reported that at least 10 new reports of sexual harassment or predatory behaviour in the South Australian police force have been made since the release of the Equal Opportunity Commissioner's report in December of last year, which exposed sexual harassment, sexual discrimination and predatory behaviour in the force. The Equal Opportunity Commissioner's report showed that SA police employees have no confidence in the internal reporting process, fearing they would be further victimised should they come forward. My questions to the minister are:

1. How many of the harassment reports related to incidents of harassment since the tabling of the Equal Opportunity Commissioner's report?

2. Is the minister concerned that these incidents have occurred in spite of the intense focus on the issue in the force?

3. Will the minister discuss with the police commissioner whether the implementation of the Equal Opportunity Commissioner's recommendations needs to be expedited, in light of the recent reports?

4. What steps is the South Australian police force taking to increase the confidence of its employees in the internal reporting process?

The Hon. P. MALINAUSKAS (Minister for Police, Minister for Correctional Services, Minister for Emergency Services, Minister for Road Safety) (14:55): I thank the honourable member for his important questions. In regard to the first one, let me straight up take that particular question on notice and seek the relevant statistics the Hon. Mr Wade is asking for. In respect of the remaining part of his question, I think it would be important for me to take the opportunity to provide some context around the work that SAPOL is undertaking in this important area.

In April last year, I think to the enormous credit of the police commissioner, SAPOL proactively asked the Equal Opportunity Commission to conduct a review of South Australian police to get a clearer picture of the extent of sexual harassment and discrimination on the basis of sex and predatory behaviour that was occurring within the police force. I commend the actions of SAPOL to proactively undertake this exercise so as to seek an external resource or external inquirer to look into SAPOL in terms of how they conduct themselves. That doesn't occur without a degree of courage and I think it was an act of transparency that is worthy of commendation.

The Equal Opportunity Commission undertook six months of work, with the participation of nearly 2,000 current and also former SAPOL staff and volunteers. The report was released in December of last year, with 38 recommendations aimed at strengthening SAPOL's workplace culture and promoting gender diversity. Since that time, the recommendations are being addressed in the context of their priority.

Importantly, the commissioner has established an internal project team to manage the implementation of those recommendations. That exercise is being led by none other than Assistant Commissioner Bryan Fahy. The first round of engagement included the following strategies: there was the release of a video blog to all staff, along with the release of a critical communication strategy to staff within SAPOL and a quick guide for staff as well. There were targeted emails to managers to highlight the importance of contributing to cultural reform and an email to staff promoting the initiatives that have been completed as part of the Equal Opportunity Commission's review. Forums were conducted personally by the commissioner and also the deputy commissioner.

As at the end of April this year, I am advised that approximately 95 per cent of all SAPOL staff had direct engagement with the Equal Opportunity Commission review, its implications and also application. Throughout the project SAPOL will continue its emphasis on engagement through employee engagement sessions, developing pulse check surveys and conducting focus groups to evaluate awareness and identify changes in behaviours.

There are three immediate actions that I think are worthy of note as a result of the Equal Opportunity Commission's report, and I think the status of those are worthy of presentation here today. Firstly, there was a published statement endorsed by all members of the executive that acknowledges that sexual harassment and sexual discrimination is unacceptable and apologises for the significant distress caused to victims and bystanders that has occurred.

There has been a recommendation to establish a restorative engagement project, and SAPOL has commissioned and funded the Equal Opportunity Commission to run and manage that process. I am very pleased to report that I recently was able to meet with the Equal Opportunity Commissioner to discuss its progress.

SAPOL is in regular communication with the Equal Opportunity Commission on this matter and staff have been selected to manage that process, and it is indeed already operating, and also to establish a new, externally provided safe space. That action has been completed, and Converge International is providing this service for SAPOL. Many aspects of other recommendations are also already underway and I am happy to provide more detail on those if members are interested.

I think the key thing to reiterate is that this is an exercise that has not come easily for SAPOL. It has shone light on information that I think has shocked many South Australians but I think the key here, of course, is that that light is having a cleansing effect on the organisation to ensure that it improves its culture, particularly in the context of its female officers. I think that SAPOL, not just in this particular area but in other areas like its fifty-fifty gender recruitment target, is seeing a growing number of women not just working within SAPOL but, indeed, interested in applying for a job in the first place which would otherwise not have been the case. We have seen a substantial growth in the number of female applicants for positions within SAPOL.

This is a good thing, but the Equal Opportunity Commission's report is an important undertaking to ensure that, as women are becoming increasingly attracted to work within SAPOL, if they are lucky enough to be employed by them they are able to do so with the confidence that SAPOL is committed to being an employer of outstanding repute when it comes to issues of sexual discrimination and sexual harassment.

I believe that the organisation, on the back of the Equal Opportunity Commission's report, is putting appropriate measures in place to ensure that is the case. I think that will bode well for community safety generally because we know from experience, both overseas and locally, that having a police force that is representative of the population it seeks to protect is a good thing for policing and community safety.

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