More than one in five women working in the charity and not-for-profit sector have been sexually assaulted in the workplace, findings from a new survey have revealed.
In response to a survey of almost 700 female members of trade union Unite working in the sector, 22% reported that they had been sexually assaulted in the workplace.
Some 5% said they had been a victim of sexual coercion – when a person pressures, tricks, threatens, or manipulates someone into engaging in sexual activity without genuine consent – at work.
Meanwhile, 43% said they had been inappropriately touched at work, while 21% had been shared or shown pornographic images by a manager, colleague or third party.
Most respondents (56%) said they also had been the recipient of sexually offensive jokes while 54% had experienced unwanted flirting, gesturing or sexual remarks.
Of those women who had been sexually harassed at work, 42% reported it happening more than twice, while a similar figure (41%) had experienced it more than once.
Incidents not reported
The survey found that 77% of respondents did not report the incidents of sexual harassment they had experienced or witnessed.
Many said they did not report incidents as they feared they would not be believed or it would put their job at risk, while others felt it was not taken seriously when they did raise it.
One respondent said: “I was a victim of upskirting by line management for years in my department. I could not tell anyone as I feared I may lose my job or not be listened to.”
Another said: “When raising experiences with management I was first asked what kind of clothing I was wearing, another time while raising incidents with our director I was initially advised to wear a ring on my engagement finger as this ‘might deter future behaviour’.”
Only a third of respondents said their employer had done enough to promote a sexual harassment zero-tolerance culture within the workplace following the legislation.
Just 22% of respondents said the issue was addressed or tackled by management.
‘Women charity workers are being failed by bosses’
Alongside the publication of the survey, Unite has launched a campaign across all sectors calling for greater protections to end workplace harassment.
It is calling for a standalone sexual harassment policy; mandatory training on sexual harassment for all employees and an extended deadline for being able to make a claim in an employment tribunal to six months after an incident.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Staff safety should be among the highest priorities for employers in the charity and not-for-profit sector, but the results of our survey are damning and show women workers are being failed by bosses.
“Nobody should suffer sexual harassment in the workplace. Unite is committed to taking a zero-tolerance approach and we are putting every employer turning a blind eye on notice.
“We will fight every step of the way to stamp out workplace harassment once and for all. Every worker deserves a safe working environment and should feel able to report harassment.”
Unite’s broader survey of sexual harassment across all UK sectors found that 25% of its 300,000 women members had been sexually assaulted, with 8% reporting being victims of sexual coercion.
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