Most UK women ‘sexually harassed’ at work

• One in five women (17%) said it was their line manager or someone with direct authority
• Some 79% said they were victims of sexual harassment but did not tell their employer
• 28% feared this could affect their ties at work;15% were worried about career prospects

At least 52 per cent of women in the UK face sexual harassment at their workplace and a majority admit to not reporting it, according to a new study released in England.

A survey of 1,500 women found a third had been subjected to unwelcome jokes and a quarter experienced unwanted touching, researchers from the UK’s Trades Union Congress (TUC) and Everyday Sexism Project found.

One in eight women reported unwanted sexual touching of their body or attempts to kiss them at work, which the report’s authors point out would be considered sexual assault under UK laws.

“It makes us miserable at work where we just want to do our job and be respected,” TUC head Frances O’Grady was quoted as saying by media in India.

“How many times do we still hear that sexual harassment at workplace is just a bit of ‘banter’? Let’s be clear  — sexual harassment is undermining, humiliating and can have a huge effect on mental health. It has no place in a modern workplace, or in wider society,” she said.

The TUC found that in nine out of 10 cases, the perpetrator was male and nearly one in five women (17 per cent) said it was their line manager, or someone with direct authority over them