The number of cases in the past year marks a significant increase from the 91 reports of alleged sexual harassment at BHP in the two years to June 30, 2021, of which 79 were substantiated. Those cases included two incidents of rape, and one attempted rape.

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BHP said it believed the rise in reports in the past year reflected its actions to promote awareness and centralise reporting and investigations.

In its update on Tuesday, the miner said it had been conducting assessments to identify risks and develop controls to prevent sexual harassment, including through leadership and training, enhanced security at accommodation sites, confidential reporting processes, and disciplinary actions.

In Western Australia, the nation’s biggest mining state, a government inquiry probing the fly-in, fly-out (FIFO) industry this year uncovered dozens of “horrifying” cases of sexual harassment against women, and accused mining companies of “corporate failure”.

“I was shocked and appalled well beyond expectation by the size and the depth of the problem,” said Libby Mettam, the committee’s chair. “The threats or loss of their livelihood that resulted was shattering, and it’s completely inexcusable.”

Rio Tinto, the nation’s second-largest miner, in February released the findings of an investigation by former sex discrimination commissioner Elizabeth Broderick.

She surveyed more than 10,000 employees and found more than half of the workforce had been bullied in the past five years, more than 30 per cent of women had been sexually harassed, and 21 women had experienced rape or attempted rape or sexual attack.

BHP chief executive Mike Henry, who is pursuing a goal for the company’s workforce to be gender-balanced by 2025, held a roundtable with investors in March about its efforts to eliminate sexual assault and harassment. He told investors BHP was making good progress, “but unacceptable behaviours continue to occur in BHP, and they shouldn’t”.

“I can say with confidence, that almost all of the recommendations in [Rio Tinto’s report] have been addressed by the actions we have already taken or have under way, but we have identified a few opportunities for improvement,” he said.

“We’re committed to lifting both our performance and that of the industry, and of course we’ll take every opportunity to learn from others.”

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