Sexual Harassment in the Workplace - Key Findings - Nature and Severity

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Key Findings – Nature and Severity

Key Findings - Nature and Severity

62 per cent of interviewees who experienced sexual harassment in the workplace in the last five years described it as including physical sexual harassment, 38 per cent described it as involving exclusively non-physical sexual harassment.
Interviewees who experienced sexual harassment in the workplace were subjected to an average of five forms of harassing behaviour (of a possible 13 categories - see 2.3. on page 19 for discussion of these categories).
Interviewees who experienced physical sexual harassment were more likely to formally report the harassment to their employer or to external agencies than interviewees who experienced exclusively non-physical sexual harassment.
Interviewees who experienced physical sexual harassment stated that the harassment tended to continue for a longer period of time than interviewees who experienced exclusively non-physical harassment.
Sexual harassment by the boss or employer is more likely to involve physical sexual harassment whereas sexual harassment by a co-worker is more likely to involve non-physical sexual harassment.
Male to female sexual harassment is more likely to involve physical sexual harassment while male to male sexual harassment is more likely to involve non-physical sexual harassment.

On average, interviewees who experienced sexual harassment in the workplace in the last five years felt more offended than intimidated by the experience.
On average, women felt both more offended and more intimidated than men.
50 per cent of interviewees rated the severity of the sexual harassment experienced as either very or extremely offensive, 40 per cent of interviewees rated the severity of the sexual harassment experienced as either very or extremely intimidating.
The greater the severity rating of the sexual harassment, the more likely the interviewee was to report the sexual harassment.
On average, interviewees felt both more offended and more intimidated by physical sexual harassment than exclusively non-physical sexual harassment.

58 per cent of interviewees who have experienced sexual harassment in the workplace in the last five years said that it had happened to someone else in the same workplace.
Of these, 33 per cent said sexual harassment was common in their workplace, 37 per cent said it had occurred sometimes, 19 per cent said sexual harassment was rare in their workplace, and 11 per cent said it was very rare.