New research: 77% of LGBTQ young people have faced workplace sexual harassment

Louis Hansel/Unsplash by Kerry H. Robinson, Western Sydney University; Cristyn Davies, University of Sydney; Emma F Jackson, Australian National University, and Kimberley Allison, Western Sydney University Unwanted sexual attention and behavior are a persistent problem in many workplace cultures. But the workplace sexual harassment of LGBTQ employees is often overlooked. Sexual harassment is generally understood through heterosexuality, in which male bosses target female employees with unwanted sexualized behaviors. This perspective of workplace sexual harassment has been enshrined in film, from 1980’s 9 to 5 to 2019’s Bombshell. Broad population studies show LGBTQ people experience sexual harassment in the workplace and at education and training institutions at disproportionately higher rates than heterosexual women. But there is limited understanding of how LGBTQ young people experience workplace sexual harassment. We conducted a landmark study funded by ANROWS of more than 1,000 LGBTQ young people aged between 14 and 30. We found more than three quarters had experienced sexual harassment at work. Alarming statistics Our study shows 77% of LGBTQ young people have experienced workplace sexual harassment. This sexual harassment occurred across all employment sectors. The most common sectors were: accommodation and food services retail trade administration and support services financial and insurance services....