Abstract (max 300 words)
Workplace sexual harassment is a serious global problem with significant adverse effects for victims, observers, organisations, and society. Despite its high prevalence, affecting approxiametly 20% of workers annually, workplace sexual harassment is preventable. In the work context, the greatest risks lie within workplaces rather than with workers per se; employees with the propensity to harass others are less likely to do so in certain work environments. This project tackles the challenge of cultivating safe workplace conditions resistant to sexual harassment through our focus on the risk contexts in which sexual harassment occurs in daily working life. Risk contexts reflect "systemic errors" in organisational functions that manifest in an elevated risk of harm; in this case, increased risk of sexual harassment. This paper reviews progress in workplace sexual harassment research and practice, including an evaluation of key workplace interventions that transform the risk contexts and support safer ways of working. The paper also summarises results to date from a large Australian mixed methods research project, designed to pioneer a new way of understanding and addressing workplace sexual harassment and to underpin a transformative shift towards organisational cultures of prevention rather than reaction. By extending knowledge of the risk contexts for workplace sexual harassment - what they are, how they are defined, and how they combine to increase risk - this project generates an evidence-based framework for understanding sexual harassment as a systemic issue. Hence an issue which can be addressed via a systematic organisational approach. The project demonstrates how we can transform the risk contexts for workplace sexual harassment and create systemic safety for all workers.