Sexual violence and harassment at work
Published: 13 March 2005
In December 2004, Istat (in Italian) [1], the Italian Institute of Statistics, presented its survey results concerning sexual violence and harassment (Molestie e violenze sessuali (265Kb pdf; in Italian) [2]. These results form part of a survey on health and safety (‘Sicurezza dei cittadini’), carried out in 2002. It is important to note that this topic is only partly dealt with in working conditions surveys, and that evidence remains limited. The report does not address the issue of violence and harassment against men.[1] http://www.istat.it/[2] http://www.istat.it/Comunicati/Fuori-cale/allegati/Molestie-e/statistica-in-breve-violenza.pdf
The workplace accounts for a significant proportion of sexual violence/attempted violence (11.8%) and harassment (12.1%) against women, according to an Istat report. Just over 3% of women were sexually intimidated either when hired, or in order to retain their job or advance their careers. More than half (55%) of those who experienced the latter situation left their job, while 6% were fired. Less than 2% of those who carried out the harassment were asked to leave their jobs.
In December 2004, Istat (in Italian), the Italian Institute of Statistics, presented its survey results concerning sexual violence and harassment (Molestie e violenze sessuali (265Kb pdf; in Italian). These results form part of a survey on health and safety (‘Sicurezza dei cittadini’), carried out in 2002. It is important to note that this topic is only partly dealt with in working conditions surveys, and that evidence remains limited. The report does not address the issue of violence and harassment against men.
Findings reveal that almost 3% of women aged 15-59 years claimed they had suffered violence or attempted violence at least once in their lives; however, only 7.4% of them reported the incident (9.3% in the last three years), and 30.6% have never discussed it with anybody (31.2% in the last three years). Some 55% of women aged 15-59 years have been victims of sexual harassment on at least one occasion.
The study also indicates that the work environment accounts for a significant proportion of incidents: 11.8% of cases of violence (including attempted violence - 9.9% in the last three years), and 12.1% of harassment cases (15.1% in the last three years) occurred in the workplace. Colleagues or employers are responsible for 4.4% of violations, 17.9% of attempted violations and 10.4% of physical harassment incidents (see Figures 1 and 2).
| Colleagues, employers, superiors | Workplace and surroundings | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Experienced: | At least once in their lifetime | In the past three years | At least once in their lifetime | In the past three years |
| Violence/attempted violence | 15.3 | 8.8 | 11.8 | 9.9 |
| Of which: Violence | 4.4 | 3.9 | 1.6 | 3.9 |
| Of which: Attempted violence | 17.9 | 9.6 | 14.3 | 10.9 |
| Physical harassment | 10.4 | 11.6 | 12.1 | 15.1 |
Source: Istat, 2004
Table 1 shows that the workplace plays a relatively minor role in actual violence, but that it is significant in relation to attempted violence (14.3% of cases occurring at least once in women’s lives, and 10.9% of cases in the last three years) and harassment (12.1% in a lifetime, 15.1% in the last three years).
Sexual intimidation in the workplace
Some 3.1% of women have been victims of work-related sexual intimidation during their lifetime: 1.8% when being hired and 1.8% in order to retain their job or to advance their career. Almost 5% of women were asked (including indirectly) to be sexually available (1.4% in the last three years).
More than 66% of intimidation cases were repeated at least once a week, while 19.2% recurred a few times a month (Table 2). In more than a third (35%) of cases, the intimidation began 10 years prior to the interview; in 21.8% of cases, they started 3-4 years before; and, in 12.7% of cases, they began two years previously. Some 12% of incidents in the last three years had started more than five years before.
| Experienced: | In their lifetime | In the last three years |
|---|---|---|
| Every day | 35.3 | 27.6 |
| A few times a week | 26.8 | 26.7 |
| Once a week | 4.0 | 3.9 |
| A few times a month | 19.2 | 27.3 |
| A few times a year/more rarely | 12.1 | 11.7 |
| No response | 2.6 | 2.8 |
Source: Istat, 2004
The victims of sexual intimidation are mainly medium and highly educated women with medium to highly qualified jobs; the rate decreases to 1.3% for women with a primary education only.
Some 77.1% of women experiencing intimidation did not discuss the incident with any colleague (65.3% in the last three years), and only a minority of the cases were actually reported. The main reasons for this are a perception that the incident is not serious (28.6%), lack of trust in the police (23.7%), and other fears (30.9%) - see Table 3.
| Lifetime | Last three years | |
|---|---|---|
| Fear of being judged or ill-treated | 22.5 | 28.9 |
| Uncertainty, shame, feelings of self-guilt | 12.0 | 8.1 |
| Lack of trust in the police | 23.7 | 24.9 |
| Took action by herself or with family help | 19.5 | 20.8 |
| Believed it was not very serious | 28.6 | 20.5 |
| Fear of consequences for herself or her family | 8.4 | 14.4 |
| Other | 2.3 | 5.4 |
| No answer | 1.4 | 0.8 |
Source: Istat, 2004
Changing job remains the most frequent recourse
Leaving the job is still by far the most frequent outcome (in over 55% of cases), and women are more likely to be fired (3.5%) or transferred (3%) than the perpetrator is (1.8% of cases). These findings indicate that employers favour the perpetrator over the victim (as shown in Table 4).
| Lifetime | Last three years | |
|---|---|---|
| Voluntarily changed job, gave up career | 55.6 | 55.0 |
| Continued to work | 4.4 | 5.1 |
| Skipped going to work (e.g. calling in sick) | 3.6 | 2.4 |
| Fired | 3.5 | 6.8 |
| Transferred | 3.0 | 0.6 |
| Tackled the perpetrator | 1.8 | 0.3 |
| Went to the courts | 0.7 | 2.8 |
| Agreed to sexual requests | 0.4 | 1.6 |
| Reported the blackmailer | 0 | 0.1 |
| Clarified/resolved the matter | 6.1 | 4.5 |
| None | 5.9 | 5.7 |
| Other | 0.4 | - |
| No response | 14.9 | 16.1 |
| Total | 100.0 | 100.0 |
Source: Istat, 2004
Trends
The report considers these figures alongside a comparative survey carried out five years previously, in 1997-98. Cases of violence and sexual intimidation, in order to retain the job or in terms of career advancement, remain stable, while the number of cases of physical harassment, obscene phone calls and intimidation at the hiring stage are decreasing.
Changes in law and in social attitudes have influenced the figures, with an increasing stigma being attached to this type of behaviour. Important reforms include the 1996 law on sexual violence and discussions about legal proposals on mobbing (2001) and, more recently, on stalking. The growing participation of women in the labour market may be a factor in some incidents of workplace harassment. However, the fact that women now have higher educational levels and are more willing to enter the labour market may help to reduce incidence levels.
Further information
Further EU level research is available on the Foundation’s website concerning [violence and harassment in the workplace](/search/node/ewco OR health OR harassment?oldIndex).
Eurofound recommends citing this publication in the following way.
Eurofound (2005), Sexual violence and harassment at work, article.
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