Survey involved 15,000 respondents from rural and urban India. About 50% who said they were harassed at workplace said it happened during regular work hours.
New Delhi: As India’s #MeToo movement gains significant momentum, a new survey conducted across 200 districts of the country, in both urban and rural areas, has found that 78 per cent people who faced sexual harassment at the workplace did not report it.
Over the last fortnight, several women have taken to social media to name alleged sexual harassers from various fields such as journalism, films, comedy, advertising, etc.
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However, the online survey, conducted by LocalCircles, found that 32 per cent of the 15,000 respondents surveyed said they or their family members had faced sexual harassment at the workplace.
According to the survey, 45 per cent of the respondents said they had not faced sexual harassment, while another 23 per cent said they were not sure — which means that the percentage of those actually harassed could be anywhere between 32 and 55 per cent.
Further, the survey included 40 per cent female respondents and 60 per cent male respondents — which also means that the percentage of women who have faced sexual harassment at the workplace is probably well above 32 per cent.
Alarmingly, 69 per cent of those who faced sexual harassment said the episode took place at their work premises. This, the survey noted, clearly establishes that the majority of sexual harassment incidents does not take place while socialising with colleagues or under the influence of alcohol, as may be often perceived.
As many as 50 per cent of the respondents who claimed to have experienced sexual harassment at the workplace said that the episode took place at work during regular office hours.
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Another 19 per cent said they had experienced sexual harassment after work hours at the workplace, while the remaining 31 per cent claimed it happened during after-hours at social gatherings or private places.
Of those who said they had been sexually harassed, 50 per cent said it took the form of physical advances.
Another 19 per cent said that it took the form of demands or requests for sexual favours, while the remaining 31 per cent said they had faced sexually-coloured remarks or a display of porn.