Global surveys show that up to 31% of working women experience sexual harassment in their lifetime, with rates surging to 42% among young women.
Despite these high prevalence rates, a vast majority of victims do not report the incidents, largely due to fears of retaliation and lack of faith in employer responses.
The International Labour Organisation (ILO) notes that violence and harassment at work affect more than 1 in 5 people globally, while the Irish Central Statistics Office (CSO) reports that younger individuals (18-24) are disproportionately affected, with 50% of young adults experiencing some form of sexual harassment annually.
Sexual harassment is defined in the Employment Equality Acts 1998-2015 as:
“any form of unwanted verbal, non-verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature, being conduct which in either case has the purpose or effect of violating a person’s dignity and creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for the person.
Forms of unwanted conduct may include:
Physical acts, requests, spoken words, gestures or the production, display or circulation of written words, pictures or other material
Employers can be legally responsible if sexual harassment happens at work or while someone is doing their job, including at work-related social events. This applies whether the harassment is by staff, managers, clients, customers, or other work contacts. Workers can face disciplinary action where an allegation of sexual harassment is upheld against them.
A previous Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) survey found a high number of workers experiencing sexual harassment take no action, either formal or informal, and an unacceptably high level of dissatisfaction with their employer’s actions among those who do report. Four in five workers (81%) took no action, while only one in four of the small minority who did report sexual harassment to their employer felt it was taken seriously and dealt with satisfactorily.
Worryingly, 1 in 10 did not know that they could report the sexual harassment to their employer or how to go about reporting the incident.
SIPTU supports members facing sexual harassment at work. We provide advice, representation, and advocacy. SIPTU’s Workers’ Rights Centre can help you protect your rights, challenge workplace policies, and take a claim to the Workplace Relations Commission. Claims must usually be made within six months of the incident. If you need support or advice on any aspect of sexual harassment at work, contact your SIPTU Organiser to discuss the matter in confidence.