“Facts” of the Five Cases
The facts of the David Jones case are well known to Australian readers. Junior publicist Kristy Fraser-Kirk made a complaint of sexual harassment against former CEO Mark McInnes.
In her statement of claim, Ms Fraser- Kirk stated that Mr McInnes engaged in repeated unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature toward her, including telling her that a dessert was like a “fuck in the mouth”, placing his hand under her clothing and touching her bra, trying to kiss her on the mouth and repeatedly asking her to accompany him to his home at Bondi.[395] Ms Fraser-Kirk also stated that when she reported these incidents to her supervisor at David Jones, she was told to say “no, Mark” and her complaints were not addressed.[396] Some of the alleged harassment took place at work functions which were held away from the workplace or were text messages which were sent to the complainant whilst she was at home. (Therefore, if that matter had proceeded to a hearing, the test for vicarious liability may have failed.)In the Clayton Utz case, Bridgette Styles complained of harassing behaviour by her colleagues, and described the law firm as a “hostile place to work”, where managers failed to take action against a Facebook group called “Clayton Utz Workplace Relations (Sydney) Whorebags”.[397] Ms Styles claimed that after her relationship with colleague Luis Izzo ended, she was harassed by other employees, who “posted a photo and montage of images of Mr Izzo with the caption ‘I'm nice to look at’ near her desk in the firm’s workplace relations group”.[398] Ms Styles also complained of sexual comments being made to her by colleagues during work functions, a failure by her employer to investigate her complaint of sexual harassment and victimisation in the workplace following the making of her complaint.[399]
In the IBM matter, the complainant Susan Spiteri alleged harassing behaviour by a former senior manager, which included telling her to “get those boobies out...to get sales”.[400] Ms Spiteri’s complaint also included allegations that this manager made sexual remarks in front of her during Christmas events, repeatedly placed his hand on her leg and up her dress at a work function, and engaged in bullying behaviour such as name-calling and phoning her late at night.[401] A Herald Sun article on the case noted that: “Despite complaining to four managers, no action was taken for 18 months, and only after the woman attempted suicide was the perpetrator forced to resign in mid-2009”.[402] The article then quoted the complainant’s legal representative Siobhan Keating: “IBM's inaction is impossible to understand”.[403] In written judgment on an application for interlocutory relief, Jessup J commented:
I should emphasise that the applicant does not allege in her Statement of Claim that any of those respondents directly engaged in any conduct which would be unlawful under the Sex Discrimination Act. Rather, the case against them is that they failed to act to prevent the particular perpetrator from engaging in the conduct which was said to be unlawful on his part.[404]
In the Rivers case, former executive Sallyanne Robinson made a civil claim against the company for harassment by its owner and sole director,[405] Philip Goodman.
Her statement of claim was reported as including complaints of unwanted sexual advances, unwanted touching of her breasts and bottom, being asked to model the company’s underwear range, and being addressed as “honey bun” and “bunny”.[406]Dock worker Carole-Ann Britt in the Patrick Stevedores matter, complained of a hostile work environment, in which she was surrounded by “posters of naked women and piles of pornographic magazines and regularly asked about her sex life”.[407] Alleged behaviours included the display of pornography on an overhead projector during a meeting.[408] Ms Britt said that she made a complaint to the maritime union after a male colleague drove her to a remote location on the port, touched her between the legs and encouraged her to have sex with him.[409]
Fanfare v Muted Coverage
While the David Jones (DJs) case appeared in the media with considerable fanfare, coverage of the other cases was considerably more muted. During August 2010, the DJs matter received front page coverage in The Sydney Morning Herald and The Daily Telegraph on five separate occasions.[410] For the other four cases in our sample, only two articles made the front page.[411]
The sheer volume of the coverage of the David Jones case was extraordinary. During its first month, the David Jones case was the subject of 26 articles in The Sydney Morning Herald, and 24 articles in The Daily Telegraph. However, the other cases in our sample have not attracted this level of coverage. The Clayton Utz case was the subject of two articles in The Sydney Morning Herald, and two articles in The Daily Telegraph. The IBM case appeared twice in The Age, and twice in the Herald Sun. The Rivers case was the subject of one article in The Age, one in the Herald Sun and one in the Sunday Herald Sun. The Patrick Stevedores case, which arguably made the most serious allegations in our sample, was reported in a single article in only one newspaper—The Sun Herald.
More on the topic “Facts” of the Five Cases:
- The Netherlands and the UK: The Witteveen Reports and their contradictory results
- REVIEW OF FORENSIC ASSESSMENT INSTRUMENTS