Hundreds of people are sharing their experiences of sexual harassment in the workplace after it was revealed that nearly two thirds of young women have experienced such unwanted attention while doing their jobs.
#HarassedAtWork trended on Twitter on Wednesday after the Trades Union Congress (TUC) released its ‘Still just a bit of banter?’ report in collaboration with the Everyday Sexism Project.
The study revealed that 52% of women and 63% of women aged 18 to 24 years old said they have experienced sexual harassment at work.
Its publication has prompted many women to share their experiences of sexual harassment in the workplace.
From underage harassment:
To sexually explicit remarks:
And physical contact:
And inappropriate behaviour from line managers:
And violent threats from colleagues:
The study, which surveyed 1,533 people, has clearly struck a chord with many people who chose to share their experiences.
The study was carried out by YouGov and is based on the opinion of women who are working or who have ever had a job, and were happy to be surveyed about this topic from an overall sample of British adults.
The survey found that 79% of women who said they experienced sexual harassment at work did not tell their employer about what was happening.
In a blog published on the Huffington Post UK on Wednesday, TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said: “This isn’t about women being able to take a joke or not.
“Sexual harassment is undermining and humiliating and victims are often left feeling ashamed and frightened.”
In 88% of cases the perpetrator of the sexual harassment was male, and 17% of women reported that it was their line manager, or someone with direct authority over them.
The study the first to include the opinion of women who identify as black, minority and ethnic origin (BME) who say they have been harassed at work.