
This week we have seen explosive allegations levelled at Don Burke. Numerous women have come forward and claimed that he touched them inappropriately, tried to remove their clothing, indecently assaulted them and made them watch videos including bestiality.
The problem is, that many of these allegations relate to conduct occurring in the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s, which means that prosecuting these claims now for some women may be problematic and potentially out of time.
Taking one step back — in broad terms, the alleged behaviour of Don Burke constitutes sexual harassment — since 1992 this has been defined in the Sex Discrimination Act as “making an unwelcome sexual advance, or an unwelcome request for sexual favours or engaging in other unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature”.
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