Report finds over a quarter of people in the East have experienced work-place sexual harassment
The Barrister Group found that 85% of these incidents recorded in our region are by somebody more senior
A new report has found 26% of people in the East say they have experienced sexual harassment in the work place.
Research from The Barrister Group which shows that 85% of these incidents recorded in the region, including Essex, are started by somebody more senior.
What else does their work show?
East of England
-Quarter (26%) of employees have experienced sexually inappropriate behaviour from a colleague in the workplace
-Majority of those (85%) by someone more senior.
- Quarter (27%) are choosing to keep quiet and didn’t report it to HR.
"It's clear that work needs to be done to tackle this"
Rhys Lloyd is from the charity Leeway - which work in the East.
"It's really disappointing to see that this culture continues to exist. It's clear that work needs to be done to tackle this and to get more people to come forwards".
"It's something that we are seeing more and more. We hope that organisations and businesses do more. Whether that's doing training or having clearer policies and procedures".
"A lot of people are afraid to report it"
He told us why he thinks these numbers are so high:
"Probably a lot of it comes down to the fact that a lot of people are afraid to report it. They may think that it's going to take a long period of time and may make working uncomfortable or awkward".
The wider findings:
The report also highlights how staff are reluctant to report inappropriate behaviour with almost half (48%) choosing to keep quiet.
The reasons given for not reporting a colleague included a reluctance 'to cause drama' (39%), a lack of faith in official channels holding them to account (16%) and a fear that they would be treated negatively if they reported an incident (12%).
The issue is impacting women more than men, with a third (31%) of women admitting to experiencing harassment in the workplace, compared to a quarter of men (26%).
Touching breasts, unwanted sexual advances and sexual slurs top the list of the most inappropriate workplace behaviours, with a wide disparity between what men and women found acceptable workplace conduct.
With high-profile celebrity scandals of sexually inappropriate behavior at work, continuing to dominate headlines, the report shows sexual charged behaviour is endemic through workplaces with most victims suffering silently.
34% believe that management accept or ignore inappropriate behaviour while 23% think that their business has a misogynistic and sexist culture.
One in ten report (12%) leaving their job due to sexually inappropriate behaviour from a colleague, with a similar amount moving to another role (10%).