Sexual harassment and discrimination is prevalent in the South Australian parliament with MPs among the alleged perpetrators, a new report has found.
Acting Equal Opportunity Commissioner Emily Strickland presented her report on Tuesday after being tasked to investigate harassment in the parliamentary workplace.
Her report found that 27 per cent of survey respondents reported being sexually harassed.
Six interview participants and two participants who made written submissions described being victims of sexual harassment in the last five years.
All of those alleged incidents involved either members of parliament or staff of MPs as the perpetrators.
"Allegations of harassment ranged in seriousness and included sexually suggestive and unwelcome comments, indecent exposure, and physical assault," Ms Strickland wrote in her report.
She also found that many people experienced offensive comments and jokes and disrespectful remarks based on race, age and sexist attitudes.
The investigation revealed many incidents were part of a pattern of behaviour that had been ongoing for more than 12 months.
It found that the majority of people were unlikely to report incidents with many fearing repercussions for their careers.
"The parliamentary workplace presents unique challenges," Ms Strickland said.
"Its employment structure is disparate, constitutional structures and protections must be guarded and, of course, politics influences decision-making and interactions.
"That said, there is clearly change that can and should be made that will improve culture and practice in the parliamentary workplace without impinging on the sovereignty of parliament."
She made 16 recommendations including a code of conduct for elected members and the introduction of a code of behaviour across the parliamentary workforce along with a robust complaints process and sanctions.
