United Nations: A third of United Nations employees have reported experiencing sexual harassment at the world body over the last two years, according to the findings of the first-ever survey on such misconduct which was released Tuesday.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told staff in a letter that the study contained ‘some sobering statistics and evidence of what needs to change’ to improve the workplace atmosphere at the United Nations.
One in three respondents, or 33 per cent, reported at least one instance of sexual harassment in the past two years, but that figure climbed to 38.7 per cent for those who reported some form of sexual harassment during their time at the United Nations.
The most common type of sexual harassment were sexual stories or jokes that were offensive, or remarks about appearance, body or sexual activities.
UN employees were also targetted for unwelcome attempts to draw them into discussion about sexual matters, offensive gestures and touching, according the survey carried out by Deloitte in November. Two out of three harassers were men and one in four were supervisors or managers. Nearly one in 10 harassers were senior leaders, according to the survey.
A total of 30,364 staff providing answers to a confidential questionnaire on line were involved in the survey.
In his letter, Guterres also said the survey findings on the prevalence of sexual harassment were comparable to other organisations, but that the United Nations, which champions equality, dignity and human rights, must set a high standard.
Guterres has vowed to enforce a zero-tolerance policy for sexual harassment.
AFP