UN: One in five worldwide have experienced workplace harassment – ​​Half reported it

More than one in five people have suffered some kind violence the harassment in the place work around the world and nearly half of victims did not report it, according to a survey released today by the International Labor Organization (ILO), which UN.

“Violence and harassment at work are very common around the world”she summarizes the survey carried out jointly by the ILO, Lloyd’s Register Foundation and the polling company Gallup. It is the first attempt to examine this phenomenon on a global scale.

“More than one in five workers (22.8% or 743 million people) have experienced some form of workplace violence or harassment during their working career”based on data collected last year. Almost a third (31.8%) of victims said they had suffered more than one form of violence or harassment and 6.3% had suffered three (physical, psychological and sexual).

However, what impressed Manuela Tomei, the ILO’s Deputy Director General of Governance, Rights and Dialogue, is that less than 55% talked about their suffering. This finding “it may reflect the fact that in many cases we are not dealing with a taboo subject but that victims feel shame and guilt because they may believe that they have somehow lost the respect of others because of their behavior”he explained at the press conference he gave.

This survey was conducted mainly by telephone in a sample of 75,000 workers from 121 countries. The discussions were conducted in a way to cover the different understandings that exist in the world of what constitutes violence or harassment.

In China, where it was necessary to obtain permission from the authorities, some questions were not asked at all. In other countries, authorities have asked questions to be “tailored” to local cultural sensitivities, a Gallup official explained.

Psychological violence is the most common form and affects 17.9% of men and women – that is 583 million people – during their working life. This is followed by physical violence, experienced by 8% (277 million people).

Research shows that men are more likely to report this type of behavior than women.

Sexual violence and harassment

About one in 15 workers (6.3% or 205 million people) experience sexual violence and harassment, and unsurprisingly, most victims are women. Of the three forms of violence examined, in this one the gender difference is most evident: more than 8% of women suffer from it, compared to 5% of men.

“Young women are twice as likely to experience sexual violence or harassment compared to young men” and “immigrant women are twice as likely as native women to be victims”the report states.

Women are also more likely to experience psychological violence while men are more likely to be victims of physical violence. “Youth, immigrants and wage earners” are more likely to experience physical or psychological violence.

Moreover, “people who at some point in their lives have been discriminated against because of their gender, disability, nationality, skin color or religion” are also more likely to face some form of violence in the workplace as well.

Source: News Beast

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