This file photo shows people crossing a street in Seoul. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, June 8 (Korea Bizwire) — The changing working environment caused by the pandemic has led to dwindling cases of sexual harassment, a survey showed Tuesday.
The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family conducted a poll of 15,158 employees at public institutions and private companies, with 4.8 percent of respondents saying that they had been sexually harassed at work at least once in the last three years, a drop of 3.3 percentage points compared to 2018.
Among the respondents, 7.9 percent of women and 2.9 percent of men said they had been sexually harassed at work.
Three years ago, sexual harassment occurred most frequently at after-work dinners with colleagues (43.7 percent) and offices (36.8 percent). In the pandemic era, sexual harassment occurred more often at offices (41.8 percent) than at after-work dinners (31.5 percent).
While a majority of victims did not report the sexual harassment they experienced, their share has dropped from 81.6 percent in 2018 to 66.7 percent, indicating that more people are taking action against their aggressors.
Another 5.5 percent of all respondents had either heard or witnessed a sexual harassment case at work over the last three years. More than half of them (64.1 percent) said they did not take any specific action.
As for the reason, 43.1 percent believed that the case was something they could overcome, while 19 percent believed that their employer would turn a blind eye even if they reported the case.
Lina Jang (linajang@koreabizwire.com)
