'I thought we agreed you'd keep your legs together': Widespread harrassment uncovered in AFP

A damning new report into the Australian Federal Police has found women referred to as "just a vagina", "troublemaker" and described as "good at blow jobs" in the workplace.

Elizabeth Broderick, who led the high-profile review into the Treatment of Women in the Australian Defence Force from 2011, has found almost half of the women working for Australia's national police force say they have been sexually harassed on the job while others are too scared to ask for time off or announce a pregnancy.

"I hid my pregnancy for 20 weeks because I thought I would not be considered for a promotion," one respondent said, while another said he had seen women "passed over" for a promotion while pregnant.

The damning report into abuse at the AFP. Source: AFP

"When I announced my second pregnancy... my supervisor said to me 'I thought we agreed you would keep your legs together'," another claimed. "It was horrible. I had to move out of that area because working there was not going to be sustainable."

Another woman said her supervisor told her he was "disappointed in her" for falling pregnant, while a number of others admitted concealing their baby bumps, for fear of being labelled "useless".

Even single dads expressed their fear of being put in the career scrap heap.

"I kept it a secret that I was a single dad and sole carer for my daughter because the expectations are there and I would have been thought of as unreliable and less committed," the man said.

Figures of sexual harrassment in the AFP.

The review of the workplace culture of the Australian Federal Police (AFP) also found that more than 60 percent of staff - men and women - reported being bullied.

"When I got promoted (in late 2014) one guy said 'you must give good blow jobs'," one woman said.

Another respondent said her male colleagues told her they would "convert her", given she is a gay woman.

"Sometimes ...the guys stare at me like I’m a piece of meat which makes me feel a bit uncomfortable," another woman said.

"I was moved from my role because I wouldn’t sleep with the Coordinator."

Despite the negatives responses, some women said they enjoyed their workplace, had been treated fairly and were made to feel welcome, but that was dependent on their allocated supervisor.

Alarmingly, a survey carried out for the report found that 46 percent of women and 20 percent of men said they had been sexually harassed in the workplace in the last five years.

"These percentages are almost double the national average," it noted.

"Sixty-two percent of men and 66 percent of women reported that they have been bullied in the workplace in the last five years."

The document, Cultural Change: Gender Diversity and Inclusion in the Australian Federal Police, also criticised the reporting process for complaints.

"There is no way I’d report what happened to me (a sexual assault). My career would be over," one woman said.

"Sexual harassment gets swept under the carpet. Nothing gets done. The response is 'Oh, its only him. He’s been doing that forever, that’s just him'," another said.

Some police workers felt that if they reported harassment it would hurt their careers or result in them being ostracised or victimised while others said complaints could take too long to resolve and questioned their confidentiality.

Report author Elizabeth Broderick. Source: 7News

Women across the AFP, which is separate to state police forces, also reported difficulties in having to "fit in" to a male-dominated culture, including having to "prove themselves".

"We have certainly made progress but I still think there is a culture of sexual harassment and bullying," one female participant told the survey.

"The man who harrassed me and other women in the office has since been promoted."

Releasing the report, AFP Commissioner, Andrew Colvin admitted that "things must change" and apologised to staff past and present who had been subjected to unacceptable behaviour.

"These practices will not be tolerated," he said, adding that a new division would be established to lead cultural reform," he said.

"Your femaleness defines you in the AFP," one woman told the report. "If you succeed it's because you’re a female and were given an easy run. If you fail, it's because you’re a female and [therefore] not up to the job."

The review of AFP workplace culture follows several inquiries into the nation's military which has been rocked by allegations of sexual abuse and cruel initiation rituals in recent years.

News break – August 23