LGBTQ people are often overlooked in studies on workplace sexual harassment with research primarily examining the experiences of cisgender heterosexual women.
Yet, broad population studies on sexual harassment at work show that this behaviour is equally pervasive in the workplace experiences of LGBTQ people.
We know very little about LGBTQ young people’s experiences of workplace sexual harassment.
The research report #SpeakingOut@Work: Sexual harassment of LGBTQ young people in the workplace and workplace training (2024) combined data from a national survey of 1001 participants, 40 in-depth interviews and photo stories created by eight LGBTQ young people.
These photographs and stories represent LGBTQ young people's experiences of workplace sexual harassment.
All names used in this content and in the report are pseudonyms.
This content contains personal accounts of discrimination and violence that may be distressing. Support is available if you need it – consider reaching out:
- Call QLife on 1800 184 527 for anonymous and free LGBTQ+ peer support and referrals, or access the web chat: qlife.org.au
- Call Lifeline on 13 11 14, chat with them online or via text.
- Call the Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800 or chat with them online.
- Visit the ANROWS support directory or QLife's list of LGBTIQ+ services for further assistance and options.
Experiences of sexual harassment
LGBTQ young people experienced workplace sexual harassment as part of a continuum of interconnected experiences of violence underpinned by homophobia, biphobia and transphobia.
The harassment LGBTQ young people faced was often directly connected to their identities.
Most LGBTQ young people reported they felt targeted for workplace sexual harassment due to their gender, age and sexual orientation.
LGBTQ young people surveyed had commonly experienced sexually suggestive or explicit comments, intrusive questions about their private lives, unwelcome sexual jokes about their LGBTQ identities, and comments about their sex lives.
Workplace sexual harassment targeting LGBTQ young people is shaped by:
- anti-LGBTQ prejudice
- fetishisation and sexualisation
- the portrayal of LGBTQ people as predators
- curiosity and entitlement to details of LGBTQ people’s identities, bodies and relationships.
Binary and non-binary transgender participants faced more intrusive comments about their anatomy than cisgender participants
"A manager was stationed in the store where I work at for one day and found out I was a trans man … She proceeded to spend well over an hour asking me highly inappropriate questions such as what my genitals now look like due to the effects of HRT, why did I decide to seek medical transition, what size my chest is under my binder, how do I navigate my sex life as a trans gay man with cis gay men, made a statement that I am secretly a straight woman due to my attraction to men, also made a statement that any sexual relations I have with cis men would be “secretly straight”, asked whether HRT made me “hornier”, attempted to pressure me into sharing photos of myself pre transition with her, and tried to pressure me into telling her my deadname, despite the fact that it is not my current legal name."
(QUEER TRANS MAN, AGED 23)
DISABILITY, INTERSECTING WITH GENDER, SEXUALITY, AND AGE, MADE YOUNG PEOPLE MORE LIKELY TO BE TARGETED FOR HARASSMENT
Neurodivergent participants, particularly those with autism, reported additional stress associated with “masking” (supressing behaviours characteristic of neurodivergence, in order to mirror neurotypical people).
For example, Ruby describes the intensified impact of masking multiple facets of herself at work:
GENDER WAS THE LEADING RISK FACTOR FOR EXPERIENCING WORKPLACE SEXUAL HARASSMENT
For many young people in this study, it was their female identity, or the perpetrator’s perception of them being female, that made them a target for workplace sexual harassment.
Cisgender young women and young people perceived to be female, regardless of their gender identity, were most frequently the targets of harassment.
Some participants who were not “out” at work as sexuality or gender diverse, including non-binary people and trans men, became targets in their workplaces because they were presumed to be female and heterosexual by perpetrators.
30% of young people had received comments about “correcting” their LGBTQ identities through sexual assault and this was more common for young women and young trans and gender diverse people presumed female at birth.
A queer non-binary survey participant aged 16 recalled how their drink was spiked by a male co-worker in his 50s, who commented that “he was trying to fix” the participant by sexually assaulting her.
A bisexual cis woman survey participant, aged 22, described how she was cornered in a supply room and was told that having sex with this person would stop [her] from "being confused" about her bisexuality.
Pervasive in the treatment of queer women and people presumed female at birth was the conceit of queerness as being an exciting challenge for men to conquer, reflecting underlying misogyny and homophobia.
Some LGBTQ young people experienced behaviours they felt were inappropriate, unwelcome and targeted them based on their sex, gender or sexuality yet were often unsure if their experiences counted as sexual harassment.
Some LGBTQ young people (17%) initially said they had not experienced workplace sexual harassment. However, they reported experiencing specific behaviours, such as intrusive questions about their private life, that count as sexual harassment.
Uncertainties about what counts as workplace sexual harassment were often based on perceiving workplace sexual harassment within “traditional” heteronormative cisgender stereotypes:
Some of the inappropriate and uncomfortable comments and behaviours about sex, sexuality and gender encountered by LGBTQ young people at work occupied a “grey zone” of uncertainty for some participants or were dismissed altogether as not constituting sexual harassment – despite being so.
Some participants “did not have a frame of reference for what was normal” (bisexual gender-questioning person, aged 25) and thus “in the moment … had no idea what was happening” (bisexual cis woman, aged 20).
Sexual harassment experienced by LGBTQ young people is closely linked to homophobic, biphobic and transphobic actions and attitudes.
Many young people were not sure if what they experienced was sexual harassment or just another encounter of "everyday garden variety" homophobia, biphobia or transphobia.
Sexual harassment from cis heterosexual perpetrators that specifically targeted participants’ LGBTQ identity through intrusive and often sexually explicit jokes, comments and questions could evoke feelings of shame, objectification, alienation, and internalised homophobia, biphobia and transphobia.
This weaponisation of young people’s identities often intensified the impact of workplace sexual harassment.
Culturally unsafe and non-inclusive workplaces where transphobia, homophobia and biphobia thrive, foster workplace sexual harassment
Workplace infrastructure, practices and environments (for example, a lack of gender-neutral bathrooms, some uniform policies, not using chosen names or pronouns, isolated rooms and dark car parks) create opportunities for sexual harassment and other forms of violence.
A queer cis woman, aged 27, described where she was harassed: “alone in a quiet basement, where no-one could overhear us, and there are no security cameras to record sound or visuals”.
Similarly, Thea, in her photo stories, emphasised that their workplace design had facilitated harassment while working in retail. The shop windows allowed a stalker to watch her, and the car park design made her feel “unsafe”:
Most LGBTQ young people chose not to make a formal report and often chose instead to leave their jobs
There are significant barriers to reporting workplace sexual harassment:
- a lack of reporting pathways
- fears of encountering transphobia, homophobia and biphobia within the reporting process
- anti-LGBTQ workplaces.
Zoe chose to capture the phone (below) that her boss used to contact and sexually harass her, explaining how the inability to prove that the phone calls included harassing comments made it difficult to report them.
Some participants identified that making a report would require them to come out in a potentially unsafe environment.
Due to personal or colleagues’ experiences of managers failing to intervene appropriately in their claims, LGBTQ young people often did not trust their employers, making it hard for them to report problems or seek support.
Many workers, especially those in accommodation and food services, had to tolerate sexual harassment from clients or customers because their employers expected them to be “presentable”, “professional” and “polished” – meaning “straight and simple” – and because they feared losing their job or tips.
LGBTQ young people often reported receiving minimal or no training on workplace sexual harassment
Overwhelmingly, those who had received workplace sexual harassment training said it was an unhelpful, tick-the-box exercise and was inappropriately pitched for LGBTQ young people due to its cisheteronormative focus.
Young people described workplace sexual harassment training as valuable if it was comprehensive, inclusive of LGBTQ people, interactive, face-to-face, facilitated by an expert, and addressed prevalence, workplace rights, and definitions including grey areas, complexities and nuances of workplace sexual harassment.
Concealing their LGBTQ identities in the workplace was a common experience for LGBTQ young people
For some LGBTQ young people, concealing their identities involved considerable emotional work. Some participants reported taking active steps to appear straight and/or cisgender to others at work.
Omar described the lengths to which he had to go to conceal his trans identity and included in his photo story the bracelet he would remove before work.
These markers allowed the expression of queerness but with plausible deniability when it might not be safe to explicitly disclose their identity.
For these young people, wearing LGBTQ symbols signalled their identities while enabling them to maintain safety in the workplace.
Tokenism and “corporate performances”: The optics of inclusivity
Gestures by some workplaces such as displaying Pride flags, supporting events like Mardi Gras, or providing Pride and pronoun pins were sometimes undermined by persistent misgendering or by management or senior staff showing biases towards LGBTQ people.
Many LGBTQ young people saw the gap between corporate inclusivity statements and actual workplace actions as an indication of a lack of sincerity.
Displays of acceptance were seen as “tokenistic” or “performative”.
For some young people, they saw that inclusivity in their workplace was time-limited and bound to campaigns in the wake of Mardi Gras/World Pride. Corporate care for LGBTQ people was seen as transient and disposable as the signs displayed during the festivities.
Organisational declarations of inclusion and support fall short in ensuring LGBTQ safety at work when not backed by genuine, everyday inclusive practices.
POSITIVE WORKPLACE CULTURES: FOSTERING SUPPORTIVE, SAFE AND INCLUSIVE WORKPLACES FOR LGBTQ YOUNG PEOPLE
Participants articulated several critical factors as facilitating safer and more inclusive workplaces for LGBTQ workers, notably:
- the presence of LGBTQ managers, co-workers, and allies
- efforts to increase staff awareness and knowledge of LGBTQ identities to counteract discrimination, myths, and stereotypes
- the development, monitoring and review of LGBTQ inclusive/supportive policies, systems and protections in workplaces
- effective interventions into sexual harassment and other discrimination, harassment and bullying experienced by LGBTQ employees.
At the systems level, some participants reported that their workplaces had LGBTQ-inclusive and supportive policies, protections and structures that made them feel safer at work. Examples included:
- allowing binary and non-binary trans employees to use their correct name rather than requiring them to use the name listed on legal paperwork
- allowing choices of uniform instead of mandating binary-gendered uniforms
- having zero tolerance policies around anti-LGBTQ harassment and discrimination.
Speaking about their job in fast food, Rory reported:
Particularly for trans participants, an unhindered choice of uniform can support gender affirmation, alleviate dysphoria, or allow them to conceal their trans identity if required.
Omar described the safety their uniform provided:
Key practice and policy recommendations
Recommendations for government
- Invest in a national public anti-sexual harassment campaign including the workplace, education, health and sports.
- Improve employers' and employees' literacy on workplace sexual harassment, including the workplace sexual harassment experienced by LGBTQ young people.
- Review and improve workplace safety and security for casual, part-time, and short-term contract workers, many of whom are LGBTQ young people.
Recommendations for business owners and workplace managers
- Ensure workplace safety and inclusion of LGBTQ young employees.
- Review and evaluate sexual harassment policies, reporting procedures, and training, with a focus on the inclusion of addressing LGBTQ employees’ experiences and needs.
- Incorporate information on workplace sexual harassment at workplace inductions for all employees, including casual, part-time workers, and short-term contract workers; and ensure these workers have access to this information on the workplace intranet.
- Address the workplace sexual harassment experienced by young employees, including LGBTQ young people, from clients and customers.
Recommendations for education sectors – Schools, universities, professional training institutions
- Review and address gaps in sexual harassment policies, reporting procedures, and training across all school and post-school education sectors.
- Include anti-sexual harassment education in Respectful Relationships Education in schools from primary through to secondary schools.
LGBTQ young people experience high rates of workplace sexual harassment and as part of a continuum of violence underpinned by transphobia, biphobia or homophobia. Their experiences of workplace sexual harassment are often directly connected to their identities.
The images, quotes and stories here represent young people’s experiences of workplace sexual harassment, workplace cultures and the ways they handle complex decisions about hiding or sharing parts of their identity.
For support, call QLife on 1800 184 527 for anonymous and free LGBTQ+ peer support and referrals, or access the web chat: qlife.org.au, call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or chat with them online or via text, or call the Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800 or chat with them online.
Explore all ANROWS workplace sexual harassment research, explore the digital library's curated reading list or view the Sexual harassment of LGBTQ young people in the workplace and workplace training project page.
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ANROWS