Legal Studies - The extent to which the legal system has been able to redress the discrimination which women have faced in society

For many decades, women in Australia have been subject to inequality and unfairness in a wide range of areas in employment. They have been discriminated based on gender, marital status, pregnancy and family responsibility. As well as this, many women have faced the most common form of discrimination based on sex – sexual harassment. In the past years, however, the legal system of Australia has redressed the discrimination which women have faced in society through a number of legislative bodies that women may access.
According to the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, 1989, the definition of sexual harassment is any form of unwelcome sexual advance, request for sexual favours or unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature. This may include unwanted physical contact, sexual advances, sexual comments and crude jokes, offensive body gestures, the display of pornographic material in the workplace, threats of violence, sexual assaults and rape. Many women have been subject to s...