Harassment in the Socio-Legal Context


Centre Members: A. Chapman
Research Staff: K. Kelly
Associates: G. Mason

In Australia, sexual harassment has developed as a distinct conceptual entity. This recognition of sexual harassment as a legal wrong has largely taken place through anti-discrimination law. Unlike sexual harassment, harassing conduct that is not sexual in nature has not developed as a unified legal concept in Australia. This project seeks to analyse the emerging principles of non-sexual harassment in Australian law and practice. Gail Mason (Law Faculty, University of Sydney) and Anna Chapman received funding for this project from the Australian Research Council for the period 2000–2002.

In 2003 the Centre's work on this project turned to focus on racial vilification legislation and concepts. In 2004 the project was largely brought to completion with an article published in the Monash University Law Review, a conference paper delivered by Anna Chapman to the Canadian Law and Society Conference in June, and an article on racial vilification legislation and the work relations context accepted for publication in the 2005 Sydney Law Review.