Half of employees experience harassment at work
Published: Tuesday, Dec 3rd 2024, 13:20
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Sexual harassment in the workplace is widespread in Switzerland despite prevention measures. According to a study, over half of employees (52%) have already experienced unwanted sexist and sexual behavior.
Women, young professionals and trainees are particularly affected, the Federal Office for Gender Equality (FOGE) announced on Tuesday. For example, 59 percent of women and 46 percent of men stated that they had experienced at least one of the sexist or sexual behaviors surveyed in the course of their professional lives.
Twelve types of behavior were surveyed which, according to the EBG, cover a broad spectrum from sexist or derogatory comments, jokes and messages, obscene gestures, physical advances to sexual assault.
Perception can diverge
The interviewees responded in particular to the question of whether they had experienced specific sexist and sexual behavior that could be classified as sexual harassment under the Gender Equality Act, but were not necessarily perceived as such by them.
When asked whether they had felt sexually harassed in their previous working life and had therefore experienced sexual harassment within the meaning of the Gender Equality Act, around a third of employees answered in the affirmative. At 44%, the proportion of women was significantly higher than that of men at 17%.
Young women particularly affected
According to the data, younger employees have experienced more incidents in the last twelve months and felt sexually harassed more often than older employees. The influence of age is particularly clear among women: one third of 16 to 25-year-old females experienced sexual harassment at work.
According to the FOGE, people in industries with a lot of customer contact, such as the hospitality, banking and healthcare sectors, are frequently affected. The harassers are most often male colleagues at the same hierarchical level. However, in the case of women who reported harassment, this often came from superiors.
One fifth of companies without measures
According to the Gender Equality Act and the Employment Act, employers are obliged to take measures to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace. However, despite this legal obligation, one in five companies do not have any prevention and intervention measures in place, the FOGE further explained.
In a statement, the Swiss Federation of Trade Unions (SBG) therefore calls for employers to take their responsibility seriously and take clear measures. This includes a binding zero-tolerance policy: every company must introduce clear rules against sexual harassment and enforce them consistently.
Clear structures and processes required
The study also contains recommendations for targeted prevention and intervention work. According to the FOGE, there is a need for better awareness-raising and education of those responsible by employers. The creation of clear company structures and processes to encourage those affected to report incidents and thus receive support is just as important.
The study jointly commissioned by the FOGE and the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) is the second survey on this topic following an initial study in 2008. In contrast to the first study, employees and employers were surveyed.
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