Report finds women not reporting workplace assaults

A new report has found that the overwhelming majority of women are keeping quiet about sexual assaults in the workplace, suggesting that there is a major cultural issue that needs to be tackled.

The report that this finding comes from was published by Unite, the trade union. A total of 6,615 female workers who are members of Unite were surveyed for it and the results are shocking. Three quarters of them stated that they had not reported sexual assaults that had been carried out while at work. One quarter of those surveyed said that workplace sexual assaults were something they had experienced in their professional lives.

Another 8% of those who took part in the survey said that they had been victims of sexual coercion in the workplace. The report also looked into the specific nature of the incidents that female workers were experiencing. 55% told the survey that they had been subjected to sexually explicit remarks; while 43% said that they had been touched inappropriately. A further 28% stated that they had been exposed to pornography.

This is clearly a problem of workplace culture, with 26% telling the survey that they felt their employer was overly tolerant towards the behaviour. The report shows how urgent it is that employers in the UK tackle the issue, even if it means bringing in culture change consulting services.

Alison Spencer-Scragg from Unite said that HR departments should refer to the report when drawing up policy. She went on to say that they could use it as the basis for a questionnaire.