SEX DISCRIMINATION Commissioner Elizabeth Broderick wants to use her final year in the job to tell workplaces to attack domestic violence against women.
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The woman who is a few months away from delivering her final report into the treatment of women in the Australian Defence Force said a crackdown on domestic violence was her second major project for the year.
She said the workplace was a good place to protect abused women because two-thirds of those assaulted at home also had paid jobs.
It was also in the interests of business owners.
''What affects employees affects employers,'' Ms Broderick said.
Flexible working hours, opportunities to transfer to offices in other cities and towns and the freedom to store a bag of personal belongings at work were ways employers could make life safer for women.
''When I visit workplaces and utter the words 'domestic violence' I'm told it's a private matter,'' Ms Broderick said.
''It's not.
''More than one million women who live in this country are either living or have lived in a relationship characterised by domestic violence.''
Ms Broderick has been in the job for four years.
This past week she had just spent two days on HMAS Sydney researching the challenges women in the navy face when deployed.
She said her looming report would suggest ways to open up leadership pathways for women in the defence forces.
Another issue she wanted to tackle was the gender pay gap and women who were being left with little superannuation.
The Australian Human Rights Commission received 448 complaints under the Sex Discrimination Act in the past year.
Discrimination on the basis of sex and pregnancy as well as sexual harassment were the most common complaints.