One in four US adults have witnessed a colleague being sexually harassed
The Bill O’Reilly debacle is just the most recent instance in a string of highly publicized workplace sexual harassment cases to break this year – other prominent cases include allegations against Miki Agrawal, cofounder of Thinx, and multibillion-dollar company Sterling Jewelers. In an attempt to combat the prevalence of sexual harassment, particularly against women, David Schwimmer launched a series of informative short films this month.
The videos were met with great praise, and as a recent YouGov poll shows, could not have come at a better time. In fact, while 15% of men report having been sexually harassed at work, double the number of women have been subjected to harassment (30%). Additionally, one in four US adults (25%) have witnessed a colleague being sexually harassed in the workplace.
Data also shows that there is a divide between men and women when it comes to their perception of validation given to alleged victims of sexual harassment. A quarter of women (25%) believe that male victims receive more support and respect than female victims – 21% think women receive more support and respect, and 14% think that victims of both sexes are treated equally.
Similarly, men are more likely to think that female victims are given more validation – over a third (37%) feel that female victims get additional respect and support. Only 17% of males think that men receive more, and 16% feel that men and women are given the same level of respect and support.
