Sexual harassment: A widespread though invisible problem in the private sector

Sexual harassment is a widespread yet invisible problem in the private sector of Georgia, with its victims being primarily women. Indeed, 27 per cent of female employees and 18 per cent of male employees report that they have experienced sexual harassment in the workplace, and for the majority (84 per cent) of female victims, the harasser was male.

Along with other significant findings of the study ‘Workplace Sexual Harassment in the Private Sector of Georgia’, UN Women presented these data at a recent meeting held with private sector representatives. Bergljot Hovland, Ambassador of Norway to Georgia, and Kaori Ishikawa, UN Women Country Representative in Georgia, opened the meeting.

Conducted by CRRC-Georgia on the initiative of UN Women, the study examined the prevalence of workplace sexual harassment in the private sector of Georgia for the first time. Its findings reveal that the most common forms of sexual harassment include making comments about a person’s appearance and clothing, sharing sexual stories, making inappropriate phone calls and engaging in unwanted touching. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a particular increase in sending text messages, photos and videos of a sexual nature.

It is noteworthy that harassment from the head of an organization or an immediate supervisor is reported by twice as many women (26 per cent) as men (12 per cent). “People in higher positions are more inclined [towards sexual harassment], so to speak, because they have more power, obviously, and they have more leverage to keep you there in exchange for something; they make you stay there, implying that they make you stay there, implying that there’s no way out,” noted one of the female respondents who has experienced sexual harassment.

It is noteworthy that private sector employees consider sexual harassment to be a serious problem, with 90 per cent of women and 86 per cent of men sharing this opinion. At the same time, however, only 9 per cent of victims of sexual harassment turn to formal channels for help. This is because they are afraid of losing their jobs or because they are concerned about the social stigma, lack of evidence and limited legal regulations.

Supported by the Norwegian Government, UN Women works closely with the private sector to create a safe and diverse work environment. This cooperation involves sharing necessary knowledge and experience with companies that are signatories to the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs). UN Women also supports WEPs signatory companies in implementing prevention and response mechanisms on sexual harassment, which is one of the most effective steps in combating the problem. Currently, facilitated by UN Women, such mechanisms have been implemented in up to 80 private companies. Tegeta Holding is one of them, and its Head of the Strategic Communications Department, Tatia Khorbaladze, participated in the panel discussion held after the presentation of the study.

“The findings we learned today are essential for identifying the problems regarding sexual harassment in the private sector, and for planning effective and respective steps,” Tatia noted after the presentation. “It has been two years since Tegeta Holding adopted a clear policy on sexual harassment, and it is important for us to make sure that it remains effective and responds to future challenges. These updated statistics will greatly help us achieve this goal.”

The study ‘Workplace Sexual Harassment in the Private Sector of Georgia’ was conducted within the framework of the UN Women project “Good Governance for Gender Equality in Georgia” (GG4GEG), under its Women’s Economic Empowerment component. The project is generously funded by the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad).