CHRISTINE M. KNIGHT

Twenty-two-year-old Mavis Mills first appears in my novel In and Out of Step. Outgoing, gregarious, and confident, Mavis is a significant secondary character in that novel. Mavis' story - a subplot - is used to provide contrast to and insight into Cassie Sleight's (the central character) journey.

Sexual harassment as an issue is complex and varied in nature. It can be a by-product of power, an aphrodisiac in itself for some people, and combined with the unthinking respect given to authority makes the 'architect' of such harassment feel unassailable. It goes beyond the behaviours of a self-serving lothario who does not recognise societal codes of behaviour in a modern western world where men and women have sexual freedom.

Having experienced sexual harassment from my teenage years, I saw it as a given in workplace and social interactions and part of gender politics, a reason to move on to new employment and relationships if it could not be avoided. The concept of making a stand against it was alien despite it being the sixties, seventies, eighties, nineties, even the nougthies. My female role models were tenacious and persevering but not militant. Although they questioned aspects of the gender politics, they were still very much part of it.

An urban myth and popular excuse used to pressure women to excuse unwanted sexual overtures from and actions by men is the notion that 'men are fixated on the size of their dicks' and 'preoccupied with sex'. This myth is not only nonsense but also an insult to mankind.

So what's being done about sexual harassment? Apart from awareness heightening posters and mandatory training on equity and diversity that reinforce that it is wrong, there are not any genuine consequences to sexual harassers or workplace bullies. Compare the issue of sexual harassment in the workplace versus drug abuse. People found guilty of drug abuse can be dismissed on the grounds of unsafe practice in the workplace.

Recently in Australia (2011), the Kristy Fraser-Kirk sexual harassment lawsuit against David Jones and its CEO claimed damages to the tune of $37 million. Was it an overpriced cost in cutting an anti-sexual harassment suit in a modern world?

Despite the considerable 'wins' of the women's movement and subsequent related legislation, gender issues continue today. Thirty years ago, sexual harassment remained undefined, and women were treated as second class citizens. Women were trapped by a fixed societal image.