A survey found that 7 out of 10 people who experienced sexual harassment in the workplace over the past 3 years said they 'endured it.' The proportion of those who said they endured it increased by 8.5 percentage points from the previous survey.
The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family announced the results of the '2024 Sexual Harassment Survey' containing this information on the 9th. The survey is conducted every 3 years under the Basic Act on Gender Equality. It serves to assess the state of sexual harassment in the workplace and to create policies to prevent it.
According to the survey results released by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family that day, 75.2% of victims of sexual harassment in the workplace over the past 3 years reported that their coping behavior was to 'endure it.' This response rate has risen from the previous survey in 2021 (66.7%).
Sexual harassment victims cited several reasons for enduring it (multiple responses): ▲ thinking it was a problem that could be overlooked (52.7%) ▲ fearing discomfort with the perpetrator (33.3%) ▲ believing that issues would be ignored by institutions or organizations even if raised (27.4%).
However, the number of people reporting experiencing sexual harassment continues to decline. The sexual harassment experience rate last year was 4.3%, down from 4.8% in 2021. The experience rate in 2018 was 8.1%.
This trend of decreasing sexual harassment experience rates showed differences between private enterprises and public institutions. The experience rate of sexual harassment in private enterprises was 2.9% last year, down 1.4 percentage points from 4.3% in 2021, whereas in public institutions, it increased from 7.4% to 11.1% during the same period.
The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family noted, 'Public institutions had a significant decrease in experience rates during the 2021 survey due to the impact of COVID-19 health guidelines,' adding that 'the return to in-person work after COVID-19 has been analyzed to influence the increase in experience rates.'
The main types of sexual harassment reported include sexual remarks or evaluations about appearance (3.2%), sexual comments and jokes (1.5%), and acts of forcing individuals to pour drinks or sit next to someone during gatherings (0.8%). The locations where sexual harassment occurred most frequently were in offices (46.8%) and at gathering places (28.6%).
Jo Yong-soo, head of the Rights Promotion Bureau at the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, said, 'We will strengthen related policies so that actual protection for victims can be effectively provided when incidents of sexual harassment occur,' and, 'We will actively support the establishment of an organizational culture where prevention and response to sexual harassment can function smoothly.'