LWV-VA Study on Sexual Harassment 2018

 

Sexual Harassment is behavior where the recipient is the subject of verbal and/or physical

 

actions of a sexual nature. Those actions do not necessarily need to be overt to cause discomfort to the recipient.  The range of behavior can be direct physical harassment, through threats i.e. retribution for reporting, for lack of acceptance of said behavior, with loss of pay and status in the workplace or community. Other examples are derogatory comments targeting a specific recipient, to comments that cause general discomfort to others.

 

Sexual harassment is a very real phenomenon.  There are several polls and studies citing the incidence of sexual harassment.

 

The US government data is collected by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Their website reports the incidence ranges “anywhere from 25% to 85% of women report having experienced sexual harassment in the workplace.” There are no documented numbers for incidences outside of the workplace, since there are no recording government agencies. [1]

 

Non-government polls and studies cover a broader range of the occurrence, collecting data among college age students, within the workplace, and in general behavior in our society.

 

A 2018 study by National Public Radio found that 81% of participants were the victim of sexual harassment during their lifetime.  Reporting was for work, home, school, and the public.[2]

 

An October 2017 poll conducted by the Langer Research Associates on behalf of ABC- Washington Post, “54% of women, or more than half of all women, have been the victim of sexual harassment”.  These numbers are general. [3]

 

Fortune Magazine collected data from the MeToo movement.  33 million women reported having been the victim of sexual harassment.  They reported, as well, that 95% of the perpetrators, all male, did not experience any punishment when reported by the victim.[4]