The Redfern Legal Centre has helped a victim of sexual harassment to a win in Federal Court.
The court awarded $305,000 in damages to the victim, a young female international student who filed a claim of sexual harassment, victimisation and aggravated damages. This amount included $160,000 in general damages – according to the Redfern Legal Centre, this is the highest award for a sexual harassment claim on record in Australia’s history.
The victim experienced the harassment while working at a fast-food franchise at the age of 22. Following her exit from the job, she could not work for two and a half years; moreover, as an international student, she did not qualify for income support. The centre helped the victim to file her case in court.
The Federal Court determined that not only was the victim sexually harassed, she was also threatened with a defamation suit. The court described the conduct of the employer’s defence as “offensive, scandalous and reliant on outdated and inappropriate assumptions about how individuals respond to sexual harassment in the workplace”, the Redfern Legal Centre said in a media release. This conduct resulted in the court awarding aggravated damages to the victim.
The Grata Fund financed the Redfern Legal Centre’s work on this case.
Last year, the Grata Fund helped secure a costs model that eliminated the risk of having to finance the costs of the other party.
Source: Redfern Legal Centre helps harassment victim to Federal Court win | Australasian Lawyer