People think sexual harassment reports are now taken seriously in workplaces

A high proportion of people have no personal experience of sexual harassment in the workplace in the last 12 months, the poll suggests.

Britons believe sexual harassment reports are taken more seriously in workplaces (PA) (PA Archive)

Britons believe sexual harassment reports are taken more seriously in workplaces than five years ago and that they would be treated fairly by bosses, a new poll has found.

The UK public and private sector has been rocked by a fresh wave of sexual harassment allegations as the fallout of 2017’s #MeToo movement continues.

The Confederation of British Industry, Odey Asset Management and Boris Johnson’s premiership were all sent into a tailspin after claims of systemic failings over abuse allegations in recent months.

But the majority of British workers think sexual harassment reports would be treated fairly by their employers, a recent Ipsos UK poll found.

The findings suggest that 66% are confident they would be treated fairly if they reported experiencing sexual harassment at work, although 20% said they are not.

A majority also said they were confident their current workplace would treat people with diverse characteristics as fairly if they made a report, the poll said.

Meanwhile, two in three people believe reports of sexual harassment at work are taken more seriously than five years ago – with 64% saying they are, 18% saying it has stayed the same and 6% saying they are taken less seriously.

However, opinion is divided over whether sexual harassment in British workplaces has become more or less common than five years ago.

Some 20% think it is more common, 35% think it is less common and 25% think there is no change, the poll found.

Work places must prioritise women’s safety and continue working to ensure every single woman feels that her complaint is taken seriously and handled appropriately.

Michaela-Clare Addison

The proportion of 18 to 24 year olds (28%) who believe it is more common is nearly double the proportion of 55 to 75 year-olds (28% compared to 15%), suggesting younger generations believe the issue is more prevalent.

A high proportion of people have no personal experience of sexual harassment in the workplace in the last 12 months, the poll suggests.

But 6% said they have personally experienced sexual harassment in the last year and 8% said they have seen another person being sexually harassed.

Michaela-Clare Addison, national sexual violence lead at the charity Victim Support, said the survey results are “encouraging” but not everyone feels confident in their workplace’s handling of sexual misconduct.

“Some of the women we support say they feel listened to and supported, while others tell us that their disclosures have been disregarded or minimised by line managers,” she said.

“We also hear instances of victim-survivors being asked to change their behaviour at work – for example, swapping their shifts – to avoid the perpetrator, in place of any real investigation or safeguarding.

“Work places must prioritise women’s safety and continue working to ensure every single woman feels that her complaint is taken seriously and handled appropriately.”

Employers should aim to have a culture of zero tolerance on sexual harassment at work and have robust systems for managing complaints.

Julie Dennis

Julie Dennis, head of inclusive workplaces at employment experts Acas, said it is still hearing from women who believe their organisation want to “sweep incidents under the carpet”.

She said Acas has heard some “horrific examples” of sexual harassment from women who have called its helpline, including inappropriate comments about women’s appearances as well as photographs being taken by work colleagues and scored.

“Some women believe their organisation wants to sweep incidents under the carpet to protect its reputation and others lack robust systems for managing workplace sexual harassment and may suspend the complainant, which is unacceptable,” she said.

“Employers should aim to have a culture of zero tolerance on sexual harassment at work and have robust systems for managing complaints.”

On what employers can do, Karen Baxter, partner at Lewis Silkin, said: “Fundamentally, employers need to be ready to investigate complaints promptly and sensitively.”

She said deciding whether to suspend, impose restrictions or allow an accused employee to continue work as normal requires a “delicate balancing act”.

“The most obvious mistake that is made is ‘decision paralysis’ – this is where nobody knows what to do, how to deal with the issues or who will investigate.

“This leads to delay, which damages the relationship with the complainant and often causes a loss of trust.”

Beverley Sunderland, managing director of Crossland Employment Solicitors, said businesses and organisations should have “a clear grievance policy and whistleblowing policy telling them who to complain to, how to do so, what the process will look like, confidentiality and that no person raising genuine concerns will be subjected to a detriment”.

The poll, carried out from June 23-26, surveyed British 1,329 adults, working full or part time, over attitudes to sexual harassment allegations at work.