Veteran newsreader Tracey Spicer claims there are about 40 Australian ‘household names’ guilty of sexual assault.
Well-known for speaking out against industry sexism, Ms Spicer announced two days ago she vowed to name and shame the senior media figures for sexual harassment.
Now the mother-of-two is working with police to hold the alleged perpetrators accountable for their actions, and says women have been hit by a tsunami of sexual assault”.
Tracey Spicer (pictured) claims there are about 40 alleged perpetrators of sexual harassment
The veteran newsreader (pictured) has vowed to name and shame senior media figures for sexual harassment
‘It is an absolute tsunami of sexual assault, intimidation and abuse,’ Ms Spicer said Thursday
‘There are 30 to 40 alleged offenders so far and I would say the vast majority of them would have more than one case against them,’ Ms Spicer told The Daily Telegraph.
‘It is an absolute tsunami of sexual assault, intimidation and abuse. It is absolutely horrific.’
Ms Spicer claims the alleged perpetrators are well-known people in the media whether they are on television or an executive.
‘Many of them are still offending to this day. There have been perpetrators in pretty much every one of the past four decades,’ Ms Spicer said.
The 50-year-old discussed the harassment she experienced earlier this year in her book, Good Girl Stripped Bare.
‘We’re talking about p***y-grabbing stuff in the workplace – and in front of witnesses. It’s just ridiculous,’ Ms Spicer told The Australian.
The accused men are currently still in senior media positions, prompting Ms Spicer to involve police in the allegations.
Ms Spicer said she had never seen anything like the conversations she has been having the week, dubbing it ‘just the tip of the iceberg’.
Ms Spicer claims the alleged perpetrators are well-known people in the media whether they are on television or an executive
The freelance journalist encouraged people to share their own sexual harassment stories with her on Twitter as she investigates ‘two long-term offenders’ in the media industry
‘These women have been silenced for so long, but all of a sudden they feel like they have a right to be heard and are finally speaking out,’ she told The Australian.
One of the men Ms Spicer wrote about in her novel was late John Sorell, former Nine Network news director and Walkley Award-winning journalist.
Mr Sorell reportedly told Ms Spicer he wanted ‘two inches off your hair and two inches off your a***!’.
Earlier this year Ms Spicer claimed ‘sickening’ sexual assault occurred while she was one of Australia’s most recognised television journalists.
The 50-year-old told Woman’s Weekly in April one of her bosses put his hand on her right buttock, asking her if she had ‘lost a bit of weight’.
‘I actually turned around to slap him, but realised it was one of my bosses. So I just lowered my arm. I said, “Yeah, after my mother died, I didn’t feel like eating”.’
One of the men Ms Spicer wrote about in her novel (pictured) was late John Sorell, former Nine Network news director and Walkley Award-winning journalist
‘These women have been silenced for so long, but all of a sudden they feel like they have a right to be heard and are finally speaking out,’ she said
The veteran journalist famously sued Network Ten after 14 years for unfair dismissal in 2006 after her contract was terminated when she returned from maternity leave.
Ms Spicer encouraged people to share their own sexual harassment stories with her on Twitter as she investigates ‘two long-term offenders’ in the media industry.
The hashtag ‘MeToo’ has since taken over social media as victims of sexual assault speak up to highlight the size of the issue following the Harvey Weinstein scandal.
Popular breakfast radio host in Adelaide, Jodie Oddy, broke down live on air after sharing the horrific details of her own sexual abuse experience.
‘I think the major problem with it all, I thought somehow this is my fault, like I did something or I brought it on myself,’ Oddy began.
Popular breakfast radio host in Adelaide, Jodie Oddy (pictured), broke down live on air after sharing the horrific details of her own sexual abuse experience
‘… to the media man about town who scared the life out of me when he pinned me down and tried to kiss me against my will, then #MeToo,’ Ms Oddy said
‘To the organisations who did absolutely nothing when there were crude sexist and degrading comments made about me in the course of me doing my job, there’s a big #MeToo,’ she said
‘To the family friend who tried it on when I was a little girl and betrayed everyone’s trust around me, then #MeToo.
‘To the teenage boyfriend who was verbally abusive and dragged me out of his car and pinned me up against a wall and had his fist up to punch me in the face, then #MeToo too.
‘To the media guy who systematically bullied female employees, he was known for it, and I particularly enjoyed the day he called me a ‘whore’ in front of all the staff, then #MeToo. That one’s for you buddy.
‘To the organisations who did absolutely nothing when there were crude sexist and degrading comments made about me in the course of me doing my job, there’s a big #MeToo.
‘And finally, and this is the one I’m probably most ashamed of, to the media man about town who scared the life out of me when he pinned me down and tried to kiss me against my will, then #MeToo.’
Ms Spicer now wants to drag the handful of men accused of sexual assault before the courts in a bid to ‘name and shame’ them.