Women experience high levels of workplace harassment

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Women are more likely than men to experience harassment within or on their way to their workplace, with 44% of women experiencing harassment compared with 26% of men. In the majority of all reported cases of harassment (83%), the perpetrator was a man, according to a YouGov survey.

Conducted by the Suzy Lamplugh Trust, the survey found high levels of violent, aggressive, sexual and unwanted behaviors against employees working or on their way to work in the United Kingdom night-time economy.

Of the 1768 night-time economy workers surveyed, one-third (34%) had experienced some form of unwanted behavior while working or on their way to work, and 15% of respondents had experienced sexual harassment. Of respondents who had been harassed while working in the night-time economy, 25% reported experiencing these unwanted behaviors more than 10 times, and 26% reported having changed their place of work as a result.

Of respondents who had been harassed, 60% had never reported their experiences to their employer, with many unconvinced that action would be taken. In addition, 75% of respondents who had been harassed while working or traveling to work in the night-time economy had not reported their experiences to the police.

To mitigate workplace harassment, the Suzy Lamplugh Trust recommends:

Support legislation requiring employers to take all reasonable steps to stop workplace sexual harassment while protecting employees from sexual harassment.
Work to ensure there is a national framework for tackling harassment that can be implemented within businesses. This framework would build on best practices, including rolling out bystander training.
]Enact legislative change to ensure individuals’ right to safety within public spaces. Governments must support proposals to make public sexual harassment a standalone offense.
Prioritize funding for women and girls’ safety on public transport and continue funding for safer public spaces. Transport services must provide regular, safe routes home from work, such as 24-hour transport systems.
Collect and publish data on the prevalence of workplace harassment, including sexual harassment, and the impact on those who experience it to support more victims.
Publish the organization’s personal safety policy.

For more insights, visit www.peoplesafe.co.uk

Maria Henriquez is a former Associate Editor of Security. She covered topics including cybersecurity and physical security, risk management and more.

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