One in Three Female Office Workers Experiences Sexual Harassment... More Common Among Non-Regular Employees

Jikgang Gapjil 119 Survey of 1,000 People
Half of Perpetrators Are 'Supervisors, Not Executives'

A survey revealed that one in three female office workers has experienced sexual harassment at work. Among non-regular female workers, two out of five reported experiencing sexual harassment, indicating a higher victimization rate compared to regular employees.

On the 3rd, the civic group Workplace Bullying 119 announced the results of a survey conducted from the 2nd to the 10th of last month targeting 1,000 workers nationwide aged 19 and older. The survey covered experiences of workplace sexual crimes such as sexual harassment, sexual assault, and stalking. This survey was conducted by Workplace Bullying 119 and the Beautiful Foundation, commissioned to the polling agency Embrain Public.

According to the survey, one in four respondents (26.0%) reported having experienced sexual harassment at work. Among women, more than one in three (35.2%) said they had experienced sexual harassment, while 18.9% of men reported the same.

[Image source=Pixabay]

Additionally, the rate of sexual harassment was higher among non-regular workers (31.0%) than regular workers (22.7%), with 38.4% of non-regular female workers reporting having been victims of workplace sexual harassment. Among female workers who experienced sexual harassment, 68% said they had suffered from "serious levels of sexual harassment."

The perpetrators of sexual harassment were most often "supervisors who are not executives" at 47.7%, followed by "employers such as representatives, executives, and management" at 21.5%. Regarding the gender of perpetrators, 88.2% of female victims said the perpetrator was of the opposite sex, while 42.1% of male victims said the perpetrator was of the same sex.

Eight percent of all respondents reported having experienced "workplace stalking." Stalking victims were also more common among women (10.1%) than men (6.4%), and among non-regular workers (12.5%) than regular workers (5.0%). The stalking victimization rate among non-regular female workers was 14.7%. Most of those who experienced workplace stalking responded by "enduring it or pretending not to know" (67.5%). Other responses included "quitting the company" (30.0%) and "protesting individually or with colleagues" (22.5%). When asked whether stalking had decreased since the Stalking Punishment Act was enforced in October last year, 72.6% of respondents said it had not decreased.

Fifteen point one percent of respondents reported having experienced "sexual assault or rape at work," with women (24.1%) being three times more likely than men (8.1%), and non-regular workers (22.3%) being twice as likely as regular workers (10.3%). Nearly one in three non-regular female workers (29.7%) reported experiencing sexual assault or rape at work.

Workplace Bullying 119 also disclosed reported cases of sexual crimes.

Worker A reported, "A perpetrator who briefly dated me at work came to my house, continuously contacted me, and verbally abused me, so I reported the stalking to the police. However, since the perpetrator’s family knows the chairman, I was instead notified of my dismissal." Another, B, said, "A supervisor who is the son of the company president touched my body twice early after I joined. He often said, 'Men’s sexual desire is instinct,' and called me out personally after work. When I raised the issue, they told me to leave soon through a recommended resignation."

A representative from Workplace Bullying 119 stated, "The reason workplaces have become lawless zones for sexual crimes is ultimately because proper punishment is not enforced," and emphasized, "Employers who commit sexual crimes must be strictly punished, and workplaces where sexual crime reports are filed should undergo special labor inspections."

Meanwhile, among 1,046 reports filed under Article 12 of the Act on Equal Employment and Support for Work-Family Reconciliation (employer sexual harassment) from January 2021 to March last year, only 129 cases were recognized as sexual harassment, accounting for 12.3% of all reports. Of these, only 80 cases resulted in fines being imposed.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.