Three in 10 Canadians have been sexually harassed at work but few reported it: survey

By

VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – Have you ever felt like someone has crossed the line with you at work?

Many people in Canada say they’ve experienced sexual harassment while on the job but a survey finds very few have gone to their bosses to report it.

Almost three in 10 (28%) say they’ve experienced verbal harassment, including unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favours, or sexually-charged talk.

Fourteen per cent say they’ve experienced unwanted contact; that can range from touching to even more serious contact.

Shachi Kurl with Angus Reid says four out of five victims chose not to report it.

“There were a lot of different reasons why they didn’t report, but ultimately, they found themselves more comfortable talking about it in a survey environment than they did to their employers. And that’s telling,” she tells us.

Some said they felt the issue was too minor to go to their bosses or they didn’t think their employer would respond well.

The top reason given for not reporting their experiences was preferring to deal with the problem themselves.

Kurl notes far more women claim to have been victims than men.

“Both genders have reported and are reporting incidences of harassment at work, but clearly this is still something that disproportionately affects women, who are nearly four times as likely to have been harassed at work as men.”

The study found most who had been victims of harassment experienced it several times.

Top Stories

Top Stories

Most Watched Today