Reports of sexual harassment in workplace inch down; online abuse rises

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Sexual harassment reported in workplaces slightly declined, but sexual harassment that took place online increased due to a rise in remote work, a government survey showed Monday.

According to the triennial survey conducted by the gender ministry, 4.3 percent of workers said last year they had experienced sexual harassment at least once in the past three years.

It marked a 0.5 percentage point decline compared to the latest survey in 2021, and a significant drop compared to the 8.1 percent recorded in 2018.

By gender, 6.1 percent of female workers said they experienced sexual harassment, while 3 percent of male workers reported sexual harassment.

The survey was conducted by 16,338 people from 857 public institutions and 1,828 private companies last year.

While reports of sexual harassment in private companies decreased from 4.3 percent in 2021 to 2.9 percent last year, public institutions saw the numbers rebound from 7.4 percent to 11.1 percent in the same period.

Previously, the number of such reports filed at public institutions had plummeted in 2021 due to strict social distancing rules during the COVID-19 pandemic that minimized office work or company gatherings, but the figure rebounded last year as more companies demanded workers return to the office.

Those who said the sexual harassment took place online, including in group chats, on social media or through messenger services increased to 7.8 percent last year, up 3.1 percentage points from 2021. The increase in online abuse stemmed from increased exposure online as more companies shift to online or remote work, according to the ministry.

By location, 46.8 percent of the respondents said the sexual harassment took place inside the office, followed by 28.6 percent who pointed to company dinner gatherings, accounting for over 70 percent of the total.

Of the 15 types of sexual harassment, sexual analogy or evaluation of one's looks accounted for 3.2 percent, trailed by dirty jokes or sexual jokes at 1.5 percent, while forcing workers to pour drinks or sit next to someone during company gatherings stood at 0.8 percent.

In a separate survey conducted on 2,685 counselors in charge of dealing with sexual harassment cases at work, 78.5 percent said they submitted recurrence prevention measures to the gender ministry following such incidents, up 2.2 percentage points from 2021.

The same figure stood at 84.9 percent for public institutions, a whopping 47.1 percentage point increase compared to the latest survey.

"The gender ministry will beef up relevant policies to protect victims of sexual harassment, and strive to promote an organizational culture that can prevent and respond smoothly in case such cases occur," a ministry official said.

The survey is conducted every three years through online and offline survey methods under the Framework Act on Gender Equality.