Power to Prevent—the impact of collective advocacy on sexual harassment law reform in Australia

This paper explores the creation and impact of the Power to Prevent coalition (‘P2P’), a collective of over 80 grassroots organisations from the legal assistance sector, sexual assault services and trade unions, and academic experts. This coalition has been a key advocate for reforms to prevent and address workplace sexual harassment, promoting solutions developed through its national, cross-sectoral collaboration and dialogue. The coalition's work has assisted civil society to make recommendations and calls for action that are peer-tested, deeply considered and therefore more unified. Through participatory observation, interviews with activists, and analysis of law reform consultations and inquiries, the author reflects on how P2P promoted legislative reforms that have improved access to justice and contributed to a social justice movement. An analysis of advocacy supporting the ‘Equal Access’ costs model, which protects applicants against adverse costs orders in federal discrimination law proceedings, demonstrates P2P's consensus-building work and influence on its members’ submissions. Through its collaborative advocacy, P2P played a change-making role, together with other key individuals and organisations, within a broader socio-political context of rapid change prompted by the #MeToo movement. Finally, this paper considers the challenges and benefits involved in collective advocacy.