Half of Swiss workers have experienced harassment at work

Half of employees have experienced harassment at work Keystone-SDA

Despite prevention measures, sexual harassment in the workplace is a widespread problem in Switzerland. According to a study, 52% of employees have experienced unwanted sexist and sexual behavior.

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Women, young professionals and trainees are particularly affected, the Federal Office for Gender Equality (FOGE) announced on Tuesday. Twelve types of behavior were surveyed, covering a broad spectrum from sexist or derogatory remarks, jokes and messages, obscene gestures and physical advances to sexual assault.

According to the FOGE, people in industries with a lot of customer contact, such as the hospitality, banking and healthcare sectors, are frequently affected.

The harassers are most often male colleagues at the same hierarchical level. However, in the case of women who reported harassment, this often came from superiors.

Translated from German by DeepL/mga

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