Half of women in UK have been sexually harassed at work, study finds

More than half of women have suffered sexual harassment in the workplace, including sexual assaults and comments about their bodies, research has found.

Trades Union Congress (TUC) and the Everyday Sexism Project found that 52% of women in the poll of over 1,500 people had experienced unwanted behaviour at work including groping, sexual advances and inappropriate jokes.

Among women and girls aged 16-24, the proportion reporting sexual harassment rose to 63%.

The Guardian reports that ‘almost a fifth said they had been harassed by their boss or someone else with authority over them’.

But four in five women said they did not report the incidents to their employers, with many fearing that it would harm their relationships at work or that they would not be taken seriously.

Frances O’Grady, the TUC’s general secretary, said: “How many times do we still hear that sexual harassment in the workplace is just a bit of ‘banter’?

“Let’s be clear – sexual harassment is undermining, humiliating and can have a huge effect on mental health … It has no place in a modern workplace, or in wider society.”

Labour is backing a call by the TUC to reinstate parts of the Equality Act making employers responsible for protecting staff from harassment by third parties such as customers.

Laura Bates, founder of the Everyday Sexism Project and Guardian columnist, said: “People say [sexual harassment] doesn’t go on in the workplace any more.

“There’s a perception that because of equality laws it’s something people aren’t putting up with.

“This research shows there’s a huge gap between that perception and the reality of what women are facing.”