Sex harassment ‘minor'

Press, 19 May 1981, Page 12

Sex harassment ‘minor'

PA '; • ■ Service Association survey of sexual harassment in the-' State Services shows that a problem exists which should nqt exist, according to an officer of the association, Mr Paul Harris. .. Mr . Harris has been responsible for collating the 500 responses received to the survey but he has used only the . 455 “serious” replies frpm women as the basis of the analysis.

-He said that critics of the design of the survey had made a point because the survey had been designed in the United States by political activists, not sociologists. Most of the sexual harassment revealed by the survey was of a fairly minor nature but any harassment at all was too much.

. The results of the survey indicated a need for a change in attitudes toward women and self-examination by .many, meg/: .\? . .•: One respondent' had said: that the survey had < been a provocative talking point ■ in i

the office and had raised the consciousness of some male workers. The P.S.A.’s journal said that the survey’s typical respondent was a young, fairly well educated, citydwelling woman earning about $lO,OOO a year, who was single, or married for the first time, and was a clerical, administrative, or professional worker in the public service. ‘ •' Two tentative conclusions could be drawn from the question asking about - the type of harassment reported: first that sexual harassment was a real problem in the workplace, and second that so far as women employees in the public service experienced it, it normally occurred in its milder forms. /•■■ Of the respondents, 27.6 per cent had reported sexual remarks and teasing, 18.6 per cent touching, 16.8 per cent leering and ogling, and 15.25

per cent hints and pressures. More than 12 per cent had reported no harassment at all. More than 43.2 per cent of the respondents felt that unwelcome male attentions were offensive, nearly 23 per cent felt that innocent flirtations made work interesting, 12.4 per cent said that sexual tensions were natural, and 11.6 per cent said that attractive women had to expect advances. Only 3.6 per cent felt that encouraging the boss was the way to “get ahead.” ; Of those who had encountered sexual advances more than 16 per cent felt that they were embarrassing, more than 15 per cent that they were demeaning, 10.5 per cent that they were 1 flattering, and 9.3 per cent that they were intimidating. > The survey had asked a 5 question on how owmen used their sexual attractiveness.

The results showed that 59 per cent of the respondents had written “not applicable,” suggesting that they were not consciously using their sexuality in the workplace. The survey showed that 31 per cent of the respondents felt that they would be told not to take the advances seriously if they reported the incidents and That 27.7 per cent thought the man involved would be asked to desist.

Nearly 44 per cent of the respondents said that they felt that sexual harassment was a minor problem, 31 per cent said that it was a serious one, and 23 per cent indicated that they had lost or left a job because of the problem. Most of the respondents who had experienced advances, 63 per cent, said that they had reacted by pretending not to notice or by acting cool. _ ■