Seven in 10 LGBT staff sexually harassed at work

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Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) staff are facing “shockingly high” levels of sexual harassment and assault, but almost two-thirds do not tell their employer about it. Nearly seven in 10 (68%) LGBT people have been sexually harassed at work according to a report from the TUC, which has been released to mark the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia today (17 May). Forty-three per cent had received comments of a sexual nature , while 47% had been the subject of jokes. More than a quarter (27%) had received unwelcome verbal sexual advances and 42% had heard colleagues commenting or asking questions about their sex life. LGBT women were significantly more likely than LGBT men to experience sexual harassment. More than a third (35%) had experienced unwanted touching, such as placing hands on their lower back or knee, compared with 16% of LGBT men; 21% of women  and 12% of men had been sexually assaulted, including touching their breasts, buttocks or genitals; and 12% of women and 7% of men had been seriously assaulted or raped at work. A woman who took part in the TUC’s research, which involved more than 1,150 workers, said she had received comments like “I am determined to turn you straight” and had colleagues trying to kiss her and touch her breasts at a work social event. One man said: “I was repeatedly asked in front of my peers whether I was ‘the train or the tunnel’ and whether I had ‘sucked off’ my partner on my lunch. When I raised the fact that this was embarrassing me and I felt uncomfortable I was told I was being melodramatic and overreacting.”

Reporting harassment

Despite many of the respondents suggesting that the behaviour they experienced had a big impact on their lives, two-thirds did not tell their employer about it. More than half (57%) chose not to report harassment because they thought it would have a negative effect on their relationships at work, while 44%