In September 1983 there was widespread coverage of a ‘milestone case’: the first industrial tribunal to rule that sexual harassment was discrimination under the 1975 Sex Discrimination Act.
Young female executive, Miss Walsh, had been sacked because she slapped a company director and poured lager over him following his behaviour towards her at an office party. Her legal costs were supported by the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC), whose spokesperson was reported saying: ‘We are very pleased at the result, because now if women are harassed at work they have some protection’. Bringing the case had not been easy. Miss Walsh told reporters of the ‘emotional strain’: ‘I am just happy I won and I hope it will help other women in the same position’. (All quoted in the Daily Mail, 9 Sept 1983).
According to the EOC, its policy in the 1980s was to assist cases that had legal merit – in order to establish the concept that sexual harassment fell within the scope of the Sex Discrimination Act. Whilst the first cases were making their way through industrial tribunals and some were decided favourably, the need for a formal written judgement (on appeal) remained a pressing one to establish a common law precedent.