Barriers to seeking damages, and achieving justice, in the #MeToo era

A new research paper explores the extent of damages awarded to victims of sexual harassment in the workplace in the lead-up to and following the advent of #MeToo. The findings, its authors suggest, show professional industries like law still have a way to go. 

On this episode of The Lawyers Weekly Show, host Jerome Doraisamy is joined by Human Rights Law Centre senior lawyer Kieran Pender and ANU law student Madeleine Castles, to discuss the damages that have been awarded for sexual harassment by courts in recent years since the landmark Richardson case, and whether or not the quantum of such damages awarded has opened the floodgates for victims of workplace misconduct to come forward. 

The trio also discuss the duty of employers to not only proactively create workplace environments that stamp out such misconduct and reactively accommodate victim needs for reporting, but also implement structural systems whereby victims can seek alternative redress if sought. 

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