Sexual Harassment in the European Union: A Pervasive but Still Hidden Form of Gender-Based Violence

Abstract

Sexual harassment is recognized as discrimination on the grounds of sex and as a breach of the principle of equal treatment between men and women. The survey of the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) on violence against women shows, however, that sexual harassment remains a pervasive and common experience for many women in the European Union. Dependent on the type of incident recorded, an estimated 83 to 102 million women (45%-55% of women) in the 28 EU Member States have experienced at least one form of sexual harassment since the age of 15. It also becomes apparent that many women do not talk with anyone about their experiences of sexual harassment, and very few report the most serious incidents to their hierarchy at work or to a responsible authority. Sexual harassment occurs in various settings and uses different means, such as the Internet. The FRA survey results indicate that sexual harassment against women involves a range of different perpetrators and includes the use of “new” technologies. The survey shows that sexual harassment disproportionately affects younger women, and that it is more commonly perceived and experienced by women with a university degree and women in the highest occupational groups. The article outlines key findings from the FRA Violence Against Women Survey with regard to the extent, forms, and consequences of sexual harassment in the European Union. It offers a critical discussion of existing definitions and measurements of sexual harassment, underlines how these significantly influence the reported prevalence rates in official or survey data, and points to relevant factors which explain the observed individual and country differences.