1 in 5 employees has suffered violence at work, says ILO

More than one in five employed people has suffered some form of violence and harassment in the workplace worldwide, revealed an investigation published this Monday (5) by the ILO (International Labor Organization).

“Violence and harassment at work are widespread around the world,” says this joint investigation by the ILO, Lloyd’s Foundation and Gallup pollsters.

“More than one employed person in five (22.8%, ie 743 million people) has experienced at least one form of violence and harassment at work during their working life”, according to data collected last year.

According to the report, 31.8% of the victims declared having suffered more than one form of violence and harassment, and 6.3% of them were confronted with the three forms (physical, psychological and sexual) of this phenomenon in the scope of their work. job. Less than 55% of victims spoke of their situation.

This “may reflect that, in many cases, it is not just a taboo issue, but that people interviewed felt shame and guilt, as they may think that, in one way or another, their behavior or their conduct may have led to another person to disrespect them”, explained the Deputy Director-General of the ILO section dedicated to governance, rights and dialogue, Manuela Tomei, at a press conference.

The survey was conducted with 75,000 people interviewed in 121 countries, most by telephone.

Psychological violence is the most common and affects 17.9% of men and women.

Next is physical violence, which affects less than one person in ten (8.5%). According to the study, men are more likely than women to report this type of violence.

Violence and harassment of a sexual nature affect about 1 worker in every 15 (6.3%), with “women being the most exposed”.

More than 8% of women were victims of this type of violence, against 5% of men.

The study’s numbers also show that psychological violence tends to affect women more than men, while the latter are more victims of physical violence.