Canada has had its share of sexual harassment complaints. Senior aids in the prime minister’s office have set up a team to handle complaints from political staffers working for cabinet ministers. (Justin Tang/Canadian Press)

Over half Canadian women report sexual harassment at work: poll

One out of every two women in Canada report having experienced sexual harassment at work and 90 per cent of women say  they use strategies to avoid it, according to a public opinion survey by the Angus Reid Institute.  Large majorities of both genders say the #metoo discussions about the issue are long overdue and will have a positive impact on gender relations over time.

Shachi Kurl says it is concerning that younger women report harassment at a fairly high rate. (Angus Reid Institute)

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“Older women report higher levels of harassment than middle aged women and young women,” says Shachi Kurl, executive director of the Angus Reid Institute. “That makes sense in many ways because they’ve been in the work force longer and also because they entered the work force at a time when attitudes were quite a bit different.

Not a problem that will  ‘magically disappear,’ says pollster

“But what really stood out to me and concerned me a little bit is that younger women, some as young as 19 to 24 years old who are really just taking their first steps in their working lives, are also reporting harassment at a fairly high rate, in some cases as high as one in three.

“That tells me that this isn’t a problem that’s just necessarily going to magically disappear with time or the retirement of older workers who have older values,” says Kurl.

Young men more permissive

In fact, the survey suggests that younger men between 18 and 34 years old are more permissive than most other respondents in their views about what is and is not acceptable in the workplace. “Some examples of that might be telling an off-colour joke or expressing sexual interest in a co-worker or sharing material that might be sexually suggestive or making a comment about someone’s body,” says Kurl.

“Not only do women all consider that to be unacceptable, but older men and middle aged men are really not considering that to be okay either.”

Large majorities of both genders say discussion about sexual harassment at work are long overdue. Older Canadians are more likely to have an optimistic view of how it will affect gender relations over the long term.

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