Can Law Address Intersectional Sexual Harassment? The Case of Claimants with Personality Disorders

O’Connell, K

Can Law Address Intersectional Sexual Harassment? The Case of Claimants with Personality Disorders

O’Connell, K

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Publisher:: MDPI AG
Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Laws, 8 (4), pp. 34 - 34

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	O’Connell, K	en_US
dc.identifier.citation	Laws, 8 (4), pp. 34 - 34	en_US
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/138742
dc.description.abstract	<jats:p>Sexual harassment across multiple grounds, including race, disability, sexuality and age, remains an entrenched problem that is poorly dealt with in law. Prevalence rates for intersectional sexual harassment are higher for certain groups, while legal redress is low. This paper examines case law on sexual harassment in Australia where there are intersectional factors and asks whether the “intersectionality” section inserted into the federal Sex Discrimination Act in 2011 has impacted legal practice and decision-making. In particular, it considers the situation of sexual harassment claimants with behavioural and personality traits that are considered “disordered” and the specifically gendered disability stereotypes that shape their treatment in law. Recent cases in Australia dealing with the sexual harassment of people with personality disorders show that intersectionality provisions of sexual harassment laws may in fact be used to undermine a legal claim by a person with disability rather than strengthen it. This article argues that an intersectional legal feminist perspective on harassment is needed for the law to work.</jats:p>	en_US
dc.language	en	en_US
dc.publisher	MDPI AG	en_US
dc.relation	http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/DP150102935
dc.relation.ispartof	Laws	en_US
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.3390/laws8040034	en_US
dc.title	Can Law Address Intersectional Sexual Harassment? The Case of Claimants with Personality Disorders	en_US
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	4	en_US
utslib.citation.volume	8	en_US
utslib.for	1602 Criminology	en_US
utslib.for	1801 Law	en_US
pubs.embargo.period	Not known	en_US
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Law
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Strength - HJ - Health Justice
utslib.copyright.status	open_access
pubs.issue	4	en_US
pubs.publication-status	Published online	en_US
pubs.volume	8	en_US

Abstract:

Sexual harassment across multiple grounds, including race, disability, sexuality and age, remains an entrenched problem that is poorly dealt with in law. Prevalence rates for intersectional sexual harassment are higher for certain groups, while legal redress is low. This paper examines case law on sexual harassment in Australia where there are intersectional factors and asks whether the “intersectionality” section inserted into the federal Sex Discrimination Act in 2011 has impacted legal practice and decision-making. In particular, it considers the situation of sexual harassment claimants with behavioural and personality traits that are considered “disordered” and the specifically gendered disability stereotypes that shape their treatment in law. Recent cases in Australia dealing with the sexual harassment of people with personality disorders show that intersectionality provisions of sexual harassment laws may in fact be used to undermine a legal claim by a person with disability rather than strengthen it. This article argues that an intersectional legal feminist perspective on harassment is needed for the law to work.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/138742