As Donald Trump reignites the debate about the way men in power treat women, new data has revealed a spike in the rate of sexual harassment across Australia.

Key points: Legal centres helping victims across Australia face deep funding cuts

Legal centres helping victims across Australia face deep funding cuts One centre offered funding if it agreed to not help sole trader employees

One centre offered funding if it agreed to not help sole trader employees Only a fraction of cases end up being reported

The news comes just as legal centres helping victims across Australia face deep funding cuts.

The data, analysed by workforce diversity specialist Conrad Liveris, shows sexual harassment rates have risen 12.8 per cent since 2011.

Mr Liveris says the number of men reporting sexual harassment has increased but four out of five reported victims are women.

"It has been since 2011 that there has been a deeper conversation about the role of women and gender in society," he said.

"So perhaps it could be related that women are becoming more aware of what sexual harassment is and thus want to discuss it more."

In 2014, a Perth woman, who has asked to be called Leanne, says she was sexually harassed at a bar restaurant in the city's northern suburbs.

"He was putting his arms around me and groping me on the side of my breasts," she said.

Leanne says she put up with the harassment, from the owner of the business, for a while before seeking legal advice.

Six months later, her then 21-year-old daughter, who's asked to be called Amy, was sexually harassed by the same man.

'The man said he was only joking, but that's not a joke'

"I was cleaning the cutlery then he called me over and began to speak to me with rude gestures and vulgar language," Amy said.

Leanne saw red.

"I wanted to kill him, I had to wait a couple of weeks before I actually told my husband because my husband would have killed him," she said.

"So I had to wait until it had died down a bit but my husband did confront the man and he said, 'oh, I was only joking, I was only joking'."

"Sorry, that's not a joke."

The restaurant's owner settled Amy's sexual harassment claim for $750 and she never stepped foot in the business again.

But Leanne did not end up lodging a claim — in part because she feared losing her job.

Mr Liveris says she is not alone and believes only a fraction of cases get reported.

"This is the difficulty with unreported data, is that we don't know how big it is but we do know it's substantial."

During the time Leanne was considering a claim, she contacted Western Australia's Employment Law Centre.

Since then its budget has been slashed.

It has lost all of its state government money and principal solicitor Jessica Smith says it's receiving temporary federal funding on the condition it no longer helps people like Leanne, who work for sole traders.

"What we've seen is that sometimes it's the smaller operators who are engaging in the worst conduct," Ms Smith said.

"Sometimes it's just a matter of ignorance of the laws but other times, they're operating a fairly small business and they're a little bit reckless as to what the relevant laws are."

The centre is applying for a federal grant but it is fighting for a funding pie of $1.8 million to be shared between centres across the country.

West Australian Attorney-General Michael Mischin said: "The disempowerment, assault and harassment of women in particular, is completely unacceptable."

"The Western Australian and federal governments have invested strongly in legislation and regulatory bodies that can intervene to protect victims.

"All persons impacted by such behaviour should be encouraged to go to regulators such as the police, Commonwealth Fair Work Ombudsman, WorkSafe agencies, industry unions and the Equal Opportunity Commission to provide information and seek assistance — all of which are well equipped to assist victims with options, information and intervention."