Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton and VEOHRC Commissioner Kristen Hilton today released the Independent Review Phase Three Audit into sex discrimination and sexual harassment, including predatory behaviour in Victoria Police.
The report marks the conclusion of the four-year audit that has aimed to reduce workplace harm addressing sex discrimination and sexual harassment in Victoria Police.
Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton said widespread organisational changes had been made to better protect employees and provide a safe, inclusive, respectful workplace.
“In 2015, we were confronted with strong evidence from the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission about the poor treatment of women in our organisation,” CCP Ashton said.
“We responded by making a commitment to significant practice and cultural reform in order to create safe, inclusive and respectful workplaces. A large program of work has since been delivered across the organisation to achieve this change.
“The achievement I am proudest of is the strong leadership shown by many of our employees to proactively address workplace harm, challenge behaviours and re-set poor workplace cultures.”
The Phase Three report acknowledges the key achievements that have been made since 2015 including:
– an increase in the number of women being promoted to leadership positions
– an increase in employees calling out inappropriate and harmful behaviour when they see it
– an increase in flexible work practices being embedded across the organisation.
CCP Ashton said the latest review provided a roadmap for Victoria Police to achieve gender equality by 2030.
“Despite some of the improvements we have made, the Commission shows us that we need to make a longer-term commitment to deliver lasting change,” he said.
“It recognises that the changes we have made so far need to be embedded within our systems and structures and that we still have much work to do to shift behaviours and attitudes that lead to workplace harm.
“I am confident that this is work we are capable of leading, both for the benefit of our employees and the community.
“We have learnt much over the last five years and we will bring these learnings into our next phase of work. We will ensure that our approach is outcome-driven and proactive so that we can prevent harm and empower employees to drive change in their own workplaces.”
Victoria Police has accepted all 15 recommendations laid out in the Phase Three Audit report.
