Understanding Harassment Risks in Remote Work Environments

BEING CURIOUS AND LEARNING WITHOUT JUDGEMENT

In 2025, updates to the Work Health and Safety Act introduced a proactive duty in Australia for organisations to identify and manage the risk of sex and gender-based harassment. Recognising that many companies are unsure of how to practically approach this requirement; particularly  in relation to women working in remote oil & gas operational environments; Bespoke Safety Group and QWOW partnered to explore how sex and gender-based harassment risk can realistically emerge in the day-to-day conditions of the oil and gas industry.  

We facilitated a series of structured workshops designed to create a deliberately safe and confidential environment where participants could speak openly and honestly. Women currently working across trade, field and site-office roles shared their lived experiences of the situations and conditions that can affect their personal safety and lead to uncomfortable or unsafe situations. 

HOW DOES THIS HELP INDUSTRY?

The BowTie case study does not replace existing company risk assessments, policies or procedures. Instead, it provides an informed, risk-based lens that organisations can use to:

  • Identify scenarios that may not be captured in traditional harassment risk assessments

  • Explore prevention opportunities that go beyond the standard company activities

  • Support more informed conversations about sex and gender-based harassment

Most importantly, it shifts the conversation from reacting to incidents to understanding and managing the conditions that can allow harassment risk to emerge.

Instead of relying on assumptions formed far from the realities of site life, these discussions uncovered a deeper understanding of how accommodation, travel, supervision structures, communication access, and isolation can create conditions where sex and gender-based harassment risk emerges.

The insights and control ideas are recorded in a BowTie diagram and provided in a printable booklet. This free resource is aimed at helping oil and gas companies critically assess their existing internal risk assessments and controls.

Download Resource Here

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