Sexual harassment of women in the EU

The issue of sexual harassment has been given significant media attention in 2018. Vastly under-reported, the true extent and gravity of the problem was not completely known. The most comprehensive survey available on violence against women at EU level (published by the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights in 2014) also revealed women’s experiences with sexual harassment.

The respondents were given a list of 11 possible acts of sexual harassment, six of which were defined as ‘most serious’. It was possible to give more than one answer. Every second woman (55%) in the EU had experienced sexual harassment at least once since the age of 15, and 45% had experienced the ‘most serious’ forms of sexual harassment. Out of all the women who indicated at least one serious incident, 35% did not speak to anyone about the incident, while 63% spoke to somebody (2% gave no answer).