A third of Canadians report experiencing sexual harassment in the workplace
Four times as many women as men deal with it, but majority don’t report it, poll finds
TORONTO — Nearly onethird of Canadians say they have been sexually harassed at work, in the form of unwelcome advances, requests or comments, according to a new poll.
The survey by Angus Reid Institute also shows 14 per cent have experienced unwanted physical contact of a sexual nature, which by the letter of the law is sexual assault. Of those harassed, however, 78 per cent said they did not report it to their employers, for reasons that varied from feeling the issue was too minor to embarrassment and fear of reprisal or career harm.
“We’ve been hearing about issues of sexual harassment or worse dominating the headlines ... whether it’s in the context of ( Jian) Ghomeshi or ( Bill) Cosby or what’s been happening on Parliament Hill. When there’s all this discussion and all this chatter and all these headlines, we felt it was important to measure what’s actually been going on with Canadians,” said Shachi Kurl, senior vice- president of the Angus Reid Institute.
Women were dramatically over- represented — by nearly four times — among those who experienced harassment, with 43 per cent of women reporting an incident, compared to 12 per cent of men. Of those incidents, more than a quarter were within the last two years.
Based on those numbers, Angus Reid Institute estimates more than one million workers, mostly women, have been harassed in the last two years. “So we know it’s real. We know it’s happening. I think what’s especially notable or concerning is that the vast majority of those who say they’ve experienced harassment or unwanted sexual contact at work or as part of their job didn’t report it to their employers,” Kurl said.
The survey also canvassed opinions on the acceptability of various behaviours in the workplace.
These ranged from having drinks after work ( nearly 90 per cent approval from both genders), to asking a coworker on a date ( 73 per cent of men said it was acceptable, compared with 62 per cent of women), through hugging a co- worker ( 68 per cent men, 71 per cent women), kissing a colleague on the cheek ( 34 per cent men, 33 per cent women), giving a shoulder rub ( 39 per cent men, 29 per cent women), all the way down to telling off- colour jokes and looking at pornography at one’s desk, which drew little support ( although 25 per cent of men think the jokes are acceptable).
“Workplaces can be complicated environments. You’re dealing with people,” Kurl said. “But that said, what is that saying about the state of our offices and shop floors in this country?”
The survey of 1,504 randomly selected Canadian adults was conducted in late November and is considered accurate to within 2.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20. It was commissioned and paid for by the Angus Reid Institute.