The sexual harassment lawsuits filed in Australia against global mining giants BHP Group and Rio Tinto are more than just another potential public relations disaster and possible hit to the bottom line.

Rio Tinto and BHP are confronting class action lawsuits alleging that they created environments where female staff suffered systemic sexual harassment and gender discrimination at their Australian mining sites.

BHP Group Ltd. and Rio Tinto Group allowed environments on their Australian mining sites where female staff faced systemic sexual harassment and gender discrimination, according to two class actions filed on Wednesday.

BHP and Rio Tinto have used confidentiality agreements to prevent female employees from speaking about sexual harassment at work, according to a lawyer leading Australian class action lawsuits against the miners.