Sexual Harassment
Another Puncher was picking up their Friday night take-away last week from the local MSG-emporium. The young woman at the counter was quietly spoken and polite. Her boss, not so much.
Said boss kept touching up the young staffer on the back and bottom. She looked uncomfortable. The Puncher was tempted to intervene and tell him off, but backed off for fear of getting her in trouble or putting her job at risk.
When is the right time to butt in?
Rising proudly from the rich green lawns between the main Defence Department buildings at one end of Canberra’s Kings Avenue stands an enormous concrete eagle atop a giant octagonal spire.
A gift from the Americans, the militarily erect structure brooks no ambiguity and invites no compromise. Its clean straight lines proclaim strength and purpose.
Its positioning is important too, across the basin of Lake Burley Griffin where it forms a counterpoint to the four-strutted flag of democracy over Capital Hill.
Continue reading "Defence goes on the attack as Smith hangs tough" »
Latest 2 of 104 comments
View all comments-
AussieSoldier says:
@ Max Power Totally on the money mate, well at least with regards to the actual written law. No Defence member is supposed to go to the media without first getting a brief from their unit’s publicity officer (if they have one). This is to make sure that the individual… Read more »
-
Anniebello says:
Morrgo, she was given the option of postponing and chose to get it over with. The incidents the female cadet was to be disciplined over happened before this publised one and were not connected to it. However if (as reported) they involved alcohol, perhaps they are somewhat related. Then she… Read more »
The fetishisation of the female backside reached royal heights this week with the global worship of Pippa Middleton’s bum.
The frenzied prostration before the bottom of HRH Catherine Middleton’s younger sister and bridesmaid highlights anew the objectification of women deeply entrenched in our culture.
This was in the Daily Mail: Many women admired her dress, but an army of male fans were happily distracted by her shapely rear as the procession went up the aisle.
Continue reading "Pippa’s arse has become porn for the slobbering masses" »
Latest 2 of 370 comments
View all comments-
Terence says:
Bad taste is just that, and really no excuses can justifying using it or expressing it excepting maybe in a personal loving way to your partner in a discreet private fashion. All this talk about free speech is just another excuse to show the world how vulgar and totally lacking… Read more »
-
PW says:
When I ride my bicycle some folk in cars like to shout out things or even throw things occasionally. They believe they will not be called to account for their behaviour and most of the time (but not always) they are right. The internet is a thing whereby people, if… Read more »
My Granny, bless her, still thinks computers are science fiction. She’s a remnant of a very different world- one where doctors wouldn’t blink if you packed your pillow with asbestos, then lit a smoke while rocking your darling little one to sleep.
It was also a world where “sexual harassment” was science fiction.
The recent Kristy Fraser-Kirk suit sparked some intense discussions in the workplaces and pubs around the nation. Some men saw a dangerous and unholy precedent on the horizon which threatened to ignite a wave of similar (and possibly frivolous) suits. Others saw justice and the protection of a woman’s right to feel safe at her place of work.
Continue reading "The DJs case wrote fear into the rule book for young men" »
Latest 2 of 156 comments
View all comments-
Steve_of_Cornubia says:
@notSue: There must be two of you, because the writer of the second post clearly didn’t write (ore read) the first. Oh, and the harrassment didn’t end there, nor was it the same women subsequently. As a (very) young fellow working in a factory that employed 50% women, I and… Read more »
-
notSue says:
@ Eric and Steve. Beg to differ again, gentlemen. I did not dismiss the incident Steve quoted as “unimportant”. In fact, I applauded Steve for making his co-workers aware of his reaction to the gift, thereby fforestalling any further incidents. Yes, the women were sensible in recognising that their action… Read more »
Room 22B of the Federal Court of NSW grew pretty crowded as Kristy Fraser-Kirk’s $37 million sexual harassment lawsuit against David Jones, its directors and ex-CEO Mark McInnes came to a head.
But if you went to the public gallery expecting to see any of the high-profile players you’d be sorely disappointed.
While the case itself had enough salacious and emotive elements to see it dramatically splashed across print, TV and online as a top-rating story, the scene in court was one carefully cloaked in the cool, passive-aggressive language of the legal profession.
Continue reading "Kristy taught us something, we’re just not sure what yet" »
Latest 2 of 50 comments
View all comments-
Charles Kelly says:
It’s a win-win for women who constantly flirt and use their sexuality for career advancement. If their attempts prove ineffective, at least they know they can always sue for sexual harassment instead. Read more »
-
Charles Kelly says:
I can’t believe some people are so gullible, they actually buy into the whole “punitive damages” excuse! It was simply a convenient escape clause, designed to disguise the fact that this greedy unscrupulous gold-digger was always just in it for the money. Read more »
Kristy Fraser-Kirk, the young woman who launched a $37 million law suit against David Jones and its former CEO Mark McInnes, is feeling the strain.
Yesterday her barrister Rachel Francois told the Federal Court Fraser-Kirk has developed an adjustment disorder and the “media intrusion” into her life since news of her case broke was partly to blame.
The point was raised during arguments over whether the names of potential witnesses in the mega sexual-harassment case should be made public, with Fraser-Kirk’s team saying it wanted to protect other women from suffering the same intrusions as the former DJ’s marketing staffer.
Continue reading "Fraser-Kirk’s confronting a monster of her own creation" »
Latest 2 of 22 comments
View all comments-
j says:
what a greedy spoilt brat. Read more »
-
jason says:
“suffering an adjustment disorder as a result of all the media attention”.. Would that be the media attention of her own stage managed media conference to set the ball rolling or some other media attention ? Read more »
Facebook Recommendations
Read all about it
Punch live
Up to the minute Twitter chatter
How much fun is it retweeting people who can't spell?
In other Olympian news, Steph rice is advertising Sunrice Chinese style Mongolian chicken. Think about that for a tick
Recent posts
The latest and greatest
Is there a nicotine patch strong enough for this?
Ok. I am not a leading expert in world’s best practice on prisoner rehabilitation — my experience…
A great win by Webber, but it sure as hell wasn’t sport
This morning I joined millions of other Australians in accelerating, braking, swearing and spilling coffee…
Fighting Assad one strongly worded statement at a time
This weekend’s massacre in Houla, Syria, is one of those stories that invites but doesn’t…
Nosebleed Section
choice ringside rantings
From: They must pay for one’s bitter disappointments
Michael S says:
"A teacher at Geelong Grammar had criticised her for using words that were too long, which had left her confused and had made her doubt her ability to write essays. She became ''quite distressed'' when her English marks began to fall." I can sympathise. My scholastic mentors conveyed to me a causal relationship… [read more]From: Welfare for breeders is a bonus for everyone
Change Up! says:
I have no problem paying my taxes. As a single, childless person on a very decent income, I can afford it and not have my life severely altered. Plus I understand that my taxes paying for things like schools, childcare and infrastructure is ultimately a good thing. A better community is better for me… [read more]Gentle jabs to the ribs
They must pay for one’s bitter disappointments
A private school girl’s family is sueing her elite, extremely expensive private school for not… Read more
Latest 2 of 90 comments
View all commentsAdd your comment