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How does harassment in public spaces affect women’s careers and professional opportunities?

Imagine that your daily commute to work is a minefield. That getting around town, travelling on public transport, eating lunch on a bench – these are all situations that carry the potential risk of hearing inappropriate comments, being accosted or touched without consent. For most women, these are not isolated stories or exercises in imagination – they are reality. And although harassment in public spaces is often trivialised as ‘innocent banter’, its impact on professional development, self-confidence and career paths can be profound and long-lasting.

What is harassment in public spaces – and why is it not a ‘trifling matter’?

Harassment in public spaces is any form of verbal, non-verbal or physical behaviour of a sexual nature that is unwanted and unwelcome by the recipient and takes place in an open space – on the way to work, at university, on public transport, in a shop, cinema or park.

An IPSOS survey conducted for L’Oréal Paris shows that:

  • 77% of women in Poland have experienced harassment in public spaces,
  • as many as 84% of them felt relieved when someone reacted,
  • but only half of the witnesses declare that they would react to harassment in public spaces – the most common reason being that they do not know how to help.

Many people believe that violence begins with actions. However, it often begins with words. Words that are meant to downplay, soften or silence. When a woman says that someone touched her without her consent on a bus, she hears: ‘You’re exaggerating.’ When she reports that someone commented on her body on the street or at work, she hears, ‘It’s just a compliment.’ And when someone dares to react, they hear, ‘Now you can’t say anything anymore.’

These are not just words. It is a language that hurts and perpetuates violence.

It’s not just temporary discomfort. It’s stress that builds up. And it can have real consequences for your professional life.

Harassment as a barrier to career advancement — data that cannot be ignored

Experiences of harassment can lead to:

  • reduced self-esteem and a decline in feelings of competence,
  • avoiding professional spaces (e.g. commuting to the office, business trips),
  • giving up activities that involve exposure, such as networking, public speaking and personal development.

Key findings — sexual harassment at work:

Sexual harassment at work: one in three women in the EU has been sexually harassed at work. Younger women are more likely to report sexual harassment in the workplace, with two in five women having experienced it.

  • One in three women in the EU-27 (30.8%) has experienced sexual harassment at work in her lifetime.
  • The rate of sexual harassment at work is higher (41.6%) among women in the youngest age group surveyed (18-29) than in other age groups.

– In most cases, the perpetrator of sexual harassment was a man. Among women in the EU-27, 15.8% experienced sexual harassment from a male colleague, 7.4% from a male boss or supervisor, and 9.3% from another man in a work context (e.g. a customer).

Between 74% and 75% of women in specialist or senior management positions have experienced sexual harassment in their lifetime, with one in four of these women having been sexually harassed in the 12 months prior to the survey (Figure 6.15). It should be recognised that women in managerial and other senior positions are at risk of sexual harassment. This may be due to various factors, such as the work environment and situations that increase the risk of mistreatment, as well as the greater awareness of women in positions of authority about what constitutes sexual harassment. Employers and other organisations must strive to raise awareness and take practical initiatives to identify and address the problem of sexual harassment experienced by women in different occupations and with different educational backgrounds, employed in a variety of workplaces.

EN: As ascertained in o

ther studies, women with irregular or precarious employment contracts, which are common for many jobs in the services sector, are also more susceptible to sexual harassment. More than half (61 %) of women employed in the services sector have been subjected to sexual harassment at least once in their lifetime. Women in this employment category also show high prevalence in the 12 months before the survey interview (24 %). Women in the agricultural sector have the lowest prevalence of sexual harassment: 31 % since the age of 15 and 12 % in the last year. Women employed as skilled manual workers also show a lower prevalence, with 44 % having experienced sexual harassment in their lifetime and 17 % in the last 12 months.  

As stated in other studies, women employed on irregular or precarious contracts, which are common in many occupations in the service sector, are also more vulnerable to sexual harassment. Over half (61%) of women employed in the service sector experience sexual harassment at least once in their lives. Women in this employment category also report a high incidence rate in the 12 months prior to the interview (24%). Women in the agricultural sector have the lowest rate of sexual harassment: 31% since the age of 15 and 12% in the last year. Women employed as skilled manual workers also report lower rates of sexual harassment: 44% of them have experienced sexual harassment in their lifetime and 17% in the last 12 months.

Social withdrawal, loss of self-confidence and trust in their surroundings, and feelings of guilt all influence women’s decisions about where and whether they want to work, what career path they will take, and how empowered they feel in their work.

Self-confidence – invisible capital in the labour market

Self-confidence is one of the most frequently cited qualities that recruiters value in candidates. But how can you build it when your right to space, respect and safety is questioned every day?

Molestowanie to element kultury dominacji, która uczy kobiety, że powinny się dostosować, a nie sprzeciwiać.

Psychologists talk about gaslighting – undermining women’s perceptions and feelings. Sociologists warn against the normalisation of harassment, i.e. treating violence as something ‘normal’ or ‘part of the gender game’.

It is precisely this learning not to speak up and to question one’s competence that affects women’s self-confidence, including at work:

  • women are less likely to apply for jobs if they do not meet all the requirements,
  • they find it more difficult to promote their own achievements,
  • they are more likely to adopt an attitude of ‘invisibility’ – not by choice, but as a defence mechanism.

Many women make career decisions not based on ambition and competence, but on minimising risk. For example: ‘I won’t go to the training because I’m afraid of coming back late at night’, ‘I won’t go to the meeting because it’s in an unfamiliar place’, ‘I won’t speak up because I’ve already been told that I’m too emotional.’

The solution? Education and interventions that make a big difference

Fortunately, there are real, accessible tools that can help each and every one of us.

One of them is the Stand Up Against Harassment in Public Places training course, which teaches five simple methods of responding to harassment in public spaces, known as the 5D method.

The training is part of the Stand Up – Stand Against Harassment in Public Places campaign run by the Feminoteka Foundation in partnership with L’Oreal Paris and Right To Be, an American non-governmental organisation specialising in combating all forms of harassment.

This is an international campaign aimed at raising awareness of what sexual harassment is. One of its elements is to provide practical knowledge to anyone interested throughout Poland on simple methods of responding to such situations.

This includes:

  • practical knowledge,
  • real-life cases and realistic scenarios
  • as well as skills that empower and enable you to respond effectively to harassment in public places.

Take part in the free training if:

  • you want to know how to respond effectively to harassment without putting yourself at risk,
  • you care about working in a world where everyone feels safe,
  • you want to ensure your own safety.

Join the free online training – the next date is coming soon!

Sources:

L’Oréal Paris & IPSOS, 2023. International survey on sexual harassment in public places

Eurostat/FRA/EIGE, 2024. EU gender-based violence survey – Key results (https://fra.europa.eu/en/publication/2024/eu-gender-violence-survey-key-results)

EU FRA, 2014. Violence against women: an EU-wide survey. Main results report (https://fra.europa.eu/sites/default/files/fra_uploads/fra-2014-vaw-survey-main-results-apr14_en.pdf)

McDonald, P., 2012. Workplace sexual harassment 30 years on: A review of the literature, International Journal of Management Reviews, Vol. 14, No. 1, pp. 1–17, p. 7.