According to a ground-breaking poll on people’s experiences with violence and harassment at work, the most common form of abuse reported in workplaces is psychological abuse rather than sexual harassment.
17.9% of workers have suffered psychological harassment and abuse at work
According to a survey conducted jointly by the International Labor Organization (ILO), Lloyd’s Register Foundation (LRF), and Gallup, 17.9% of workers have suffered psychological harassment and abuse at work. This indicates that abuse in the form of insults, threats, bullying, or intimidation has been experienced by 583 million people worldwide.
One in fifteen, or 6.3% of persons have experienced sexual harassment
On the other hand, one in fifteen, or 6.3% of persons, experienced sexual harassment. Around the world, 205 million workers have encountered inappropriate touches, remarks, images, emails, or sexual solicitations.
Women were shown to be more likely to encounter psychological aggression and harassment than men. However, men were more frequently the victims of psychological abuse.
Physical assaults were also discovered to be frequent. 8.5% of the population, or 277 million people, have experienced physical abuse such as hitting, restraint, or spitting. (https://www.theseedpharm.com/) Both sexes dealt with it, although males were more likely to have done so and to have reported the abuse.
The study demonstrates that certain demographic groups are more likely than others to experience violence and harassment at work. It was discovered both men and women were more likely to experience violence and harassment at work if they were young, migrants, earning wages or salaries, and this was particularly true of women.
Migrant women were almost twice as likely as nonmigrant women to report sexual abuse and harassment
For instance, survey data suggest that migrant women were almost twice as likely as nonmigrant women to report sexual abuse and harassment. And, young women were twice as likely than young males to have suffered sexual violence and harassment.
Nevertheless, just one in two, or 54.4% of the victims have reported their unpleasant experiences, despite the disturbingly high numbers. The victims were more likely to have these discussions with friends and family than with other informal or official routes.
According to the ILO, this may be attributable to “risks of re-victimization or retaliation, fear of stigmatization, ignorance of reporting and monitoring procedures, “normalization” of violence and harassment, and lack of reporting and monitoring information.” “Waste of time” and “fear for their reputation” were the two most prevalent anxieties that prevented people from speaking out about the abuse.
The research urges the implementation of prevention strategies. Already existing workplace and national strategies could be expanded upon or modified to address workplace abuse prevention. Additionally, it promotes raising awareness of violence and harassment, improving institutions’ capacity to provide efficient remedies, and promoting and building a right-based framework as a means of addressing the issue.