This article contains references to sexual harassment.
It was mentioned in passing when Kate (not her real name) first heard about it.
She was working at the call centre for a large Australian insurance company when her manager told the team there was a repeat caller coming through who they could transfer if they felt uncomfortable.
“What do you mean?” Kate asked her manager. “He was like, ‘[it's a] a man who touches themselves, that masturbates.’”
On the same day, minutes later, Kate received his call.
“He thought he was being clever, saying suggestive things,” she told the Feed. “I could hear his bed sheets in the background. He was making noises.”
I could hear his bed sheets in the background. He was making noises.Kate, call centre worker
The man who was seeking phone sex would hang up when the call was transferred to her manager. But he would try again.
Kate was 21 at the time and most of her colleagues who were also taking his calls were about the same age. At her workplace, she said, “the culture, especially from the managers, was that it was like a prank caller.”
They did not treat it for what it was - harassment. Normalising the harassment led her to brush it off for a while, too. She was also made to believe it would be rare – but it was not.
“Then I heard whispers about how it's actually been happening for a year-and-a-half,” she said.
A few weeks later, Kate was seated next to her friend, a survivor of sexual assault. Her friend answered his call.
“She had a PTSD reaction and fully broke down and couldn't keep working. She had to go home,” Kate said.
“My manager basically said, yes, that's okay, go home. But made no effort to say they would do something to stop them from calling us.”
Kate knew then that it was time to stop the incognito caller from tormenting her, and others, at work. But others still face them every day, unknowingly answering calls from exploitative harassers. Sometimes it's children who pick up the call.
Callers seeking phone sex harass helplines and call centres often
Unwanted callers are disrupting helpline services including Lifeline and 1800RESPECT for sexual gratification. Credit: Gavin Blyth
People reported they had been rung up by men wanting phone sex at multiple kids helplines, drug and alcohol helplines, shops (the woman called was just 14 at the time) and call centres like Kate's.
One helpline volunteer told The Feed they had quit over the issue.
While only 2 per cent of calls to Lifeline were classified as "unwanted callers" - calls that are usually abusive, threatening or sexual in nature - they still divert volunteers and employees from people in crisis. At Lifeline, calls can save lives.
Lifeline volunteers and employees, as well as the trained counsellors at 1800RESPECT, can terminate a call when it becomes sexual in nature. At both support services, people answering crisis calls are trained, regularly supervised, can debrief between calls and have resources to support them.
Reporting the calls
After the distress experienced by Kate's colleague, she approached her managers seeking support in making a formal complaint to police.
The next time the harasser called in, Kate said she was instructed to stay on the line while the man was touching himself. Her manager was sending her messages as it was happening asking for certain prompts and they were able to extract some details to hand over to the police.
"That's something I have to deal with the rest of my life. My manager really didn't get it. She was like, it's not even a big deal."
The incident left Kate in tears.
Kate said even if call centres block the phone number, it only provides a temporary fix as people can will call from another line. Source: Getty / Tashi-Delek
"It wasn't the only thing he was charged with," Kate said.
Even if call centres block certain phone numbers, Kate said it only provides a temporary fix as people can just call from another line.
"The only real option is going to the police," she said, adding that the man hasn't been the only one to call for phone sex.
What are the laws around phone harassment?
Chadi Irani, who has been a criminal lawyer for 15 years, said under the Commonwealth Criminal Code, people can be convicted if they "menace, harass or cause offence," using a carriage service - which refers to any type of electronic communication. The penalty is up to five years in jail.
Repeat callers could be found to harass, Mr Irani said. A case could also be made that an isolated call for phone sex could cause offence - though it would be difficult to prove.
"I think there’s still a gap when it comes to this type of conduct when it comes to sexual calls to emergency services or people at Lifeline," he told The Feed.
He noted the legislation had also recently been changed to update laws around sexual harassment through social media.
As for whether police can trace where calls are coming from, Mr Irani said the short answer is yes.
The Fair Work Commission declined to comment on the specific issue but said the Fair Work Act applies to sexual harassment "in connection with" work.
The Fair Work Ombudsman provides information to people who may have experienced sexual harassment in connection with work and The Australian Human Rights Commission also accepts complaints about sex and sex-based discrimination.
Mia Pantechi, an employment lawyer at Maurice Blackburn, said it was "shocking" to hear that the behaviour was occurring and employees were being subject to regular harassment.
She told The Feed in some cases employers can be liable for failing to protect their employees from sexual harassment under the Sex Discrimination Act.
Recent reforms also specify that this is a positive obligation that requires employers "to take reasonable and proportionate measures to eliminate as far as possible conduct that includes sexual harassment," she said.
Lack of data and direction in the industry on this type of sexual harassment
Justin Tippett, CEO of the Australian Customer Experience Professionals Association, which represents the call centre industry, said it would help if all organisations collected data classifying the calls.
"It's definitely a 'thing' and there's this distinct lack of data in the industry about it," he told The Feed.
"From an industry perspective, we would absolutely love to lobby the government and say, there should be consequences via laws that help support those situations. But if you don't have data, it makes it very hard to do that."
Mr Tippett said the association would strive to set an industry guideline on how to handle sex callers and also empower employees, with The Feed's report helping to bump the issue up the priority list.
I feel like in a lot of ways it's a gateway. It's a gateway to sexual assault or to do more brazen things if it's not dealt with by companies.Kate, call centre worker
"What we can do as an industry is have policies in place so agents feel empowered to be able to hang up or disconnect immediately. In some call centres, there might be a policy that says that you can never hang up on a customer," Mr Tippett said.
Kate said it was a tricky road to get her grievances addressed at work, and many male colleagues laughed in her face when she shared what had happened.
"I feel like in a lot of ways it's a gateway. It's a gateway to sexual assault or to do more brazen things if it's not dealt with by companies," she said.
"You guys cannot keep doing this to your employees it's unethical and bullshit."
It's five years after the harassment and Kate is still irked by what happened.
"If I heard his voice now, I'd still remember it."
Readers seeking crisis support can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14, the Suicide Call Back Service on 1300 659 467 and Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800 (for young people aged up to 25). More information and support with mental health is available at and on 1300 22 4636.
If you or someone you know is experiencing, or at risk of experiencing, domestic, family or sexual violence, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732 or visit
