Named the scale of sexual harassment of young women at work

Nearly two-thirds of young women have experienced sexual harassment at work, according to a study by the British Congress of Trade Unions. However, most victims do not report harassment for fear that they will not be believed or that it will harm their career prospects, the trade union body claims.

According to a survey by the British Trade Union Congress (TUC), almost one in three young women have experienced sexual harassment, bullying or verbal abuse at work.

However, most victims do not report it out of fear that they will not be believed or that it will harm their relationships at work or career prospects, the TUC said.

Overall, writes The Guardian, the survey showed that almost one in five women (58%) experienced harassment at work. This figure rises to 62% among women aged 25 to 34.

Most of these cases were not isolated incidents: 57% of women said they had experienced three or more incidents of bullying at work. More than two in five (43%) have experienced at least three incidents of sexual harassment.

British trade union general secretary Paul Novak said: “Every woman should be protected from sexual harassment. But every day we hear stories about the extent of sexual harassment in our workplaces.”

“And we know that many women who work in public works — retail workers and therapist administrators, for example — are routinely abused by clients and patients. There is no place for sexual harassment and bullying in modern workplaces,” concluded the trade union leader.

A separate study recently by the public sector union Unison found that only one NHS foundation in England provided specific training to prevent sexual harassment, although one in 12 NHS employees experienced such behavior at work last year. Guardian.

Meanwhile, the CBI, the UK’s largest business lobbying group, has been rocked by a series of sexual harassment allegations reported by The Guardian.

The British Trade Union Congress alleges that some Conservative MPs and fellow peers have tried to sabotage new laws designed to protect workers from sexual harassment and harassment at work.

The Worker Protection Bill, promoted by ministerial support by Liberal Democratic MP Ware Hobhouse, introduces a new preventive obligation for employers to combat sexual harassment in the workplace.

The bill will also protect workers from harassment and abuse by third parties such as clients, customers, patients or members of the public.

The TUC survey showed that in two of the five most recent incidents, a third party was the culprit and not another employee.

Most incidents of sexual harassment, bullying, or verbal abuse occur in the workplace (71%), but they also occur over the phone or via text message (12%), or online, via email, social media, or in a virtual meeting (8 %).

However, less than a third of the women who said they were sexually harassed at work told their employer about what was happening, and only two out of five (44%) of those who were bullied and half (50%) of those who were verbally abused reported it.

Of those who did not report it, some felt they would not be believed or taken seriously (39%), while others felt that reporting it would negatively impact their relationships at work (37%) or prospects career growth (25%).