site.btaNearly 19% of Employees Report Having Experienced Sexual Harassment at Work - Survey

A survey conducted by Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung and the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria (CITUB) between July 15 and September 30, 2024, found that nearly 19% of the 839 employed respondents had been sexually harassed at work, with almost 90% of the victims being women. The findings were presented at a conference here on Wednesday.

The most common forms of workplace sexual harassment include inappropriate looks and remarks, indecent sexual jokes, insults, and unwanted physical contact, Violeta Ivanova, Deputy Director of the Institute for Social and Trade Union Research at CITUB, said. She added that women under 30 were found to be at the highest risk.

According to the findings, 32% of respondents reported feeling uncomfortable at work, 13% experienced depressive episodes, 14% considered leaving their jobs, and 11% felt afraid to go to work. The majority of respondents work in the education sector.

When asked how they responded to harassment, 30.67% of respondents selected the “I do not know” option, 28% said that they had not responded in any way, and 22.67% confronted their harassers. Some victims confided in family or close friends, others reported the incidents to the ombudsman’s office, etc.

The survey organizers defined sexual harassment as behavior that creates a hostile, offensive, humiliating, or threatening environment. They also noted that coercion or refusal to accept such behaviour could influence decision-making affecting the individual.

Violence and harassment in the workplace have an impact not only on labor productivity but also on victims' mental health, said Yanka Takeva, President of the Bulgarian Union of Teachers and head of CITUB’s Commission for Equality, Family, Women, and Children. She emphasized the importance of education and family in preventing such behaviour.

The Director of the Bulgarian Office of Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, Jacques Paparo, said that surveys like this provide a foundation for implementing measures to address these problems.

The trade unions have proposed signing a national agreement on protection from violence and harassment at work, incorporating anti-harassment provisions into the collective agreement at the sectoral and company levels, and launching awareness campaigns.

Reports of workplace sexual harassment remain low, Zlatina Dukova from the Commission for Protection against Discrimination said, adding that some of the victims prefer to stay silent out of fear of losing their jobs.

The survey findings were presented ahead of International Women's Day (March 8). The fight against workplace bullying is a cause that both Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung and CITUB support, said Kalina Drenska, project coordinator at Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, Bulgaria Office.