Sexual harassment has been all over the news lately, as more and more people — particularly those in positions of power — are accused of perpetrating it. But what exactly constitutes sexual harassment? It turns out not everyone agrees on that.
According to a recent survey from Barna, nearly a quarter of men don't consider exposing themselves or masturbating in front of someone to be sexual harassment. Beyond that, only about half of men consider pushing against someone on public transportation to be sexual harassment, and only 71% of men consider sharing intimate photos of someone without their consent to be harassment.
In the survey, Barna polled more than 1,000 adults about what exactly sexual harassment means, presenting them with different instances and asking whether they consider it to be harassment. Across all but one instances, women were more likely to consider an action to be sexual harassment than men were. In the case of "lighthearted flirting," 12% of men and women alike thought it constitutes harassment — the only area in which men and women agree.
According to the research, 96% of women consider touching or groping to be sexual harassment, compared to 86% of men. Ninety one percent of women consider being forced to do something sexual to be sexual harassment, while 83% of men think the same. About 85% of women said making sexual comments about someones body or looks, being shown intimate photos you did not want to see and sexually explicit emails or texts is sexual harassment. In those same instances, about 70% of men agreed that it constitutes sexual harassment.
We know that sexual harassment is a pervasive problem across industries, ages and gender, particularly as more and more people come forward with their own stories under the #MeToo movement. The burden should never be placed on the victim, and no one needs to share their experience with harassment for it to be valid, but with more and more people coming forward, others may feel empowered to stand up against harassment — whether it's happening to them or to someone else.