By — Laura Santhanam Laura Santhanam Leave a comment 0comments Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/poll-a-third-of-women-say-theyve-been-sexually-harassed-or-abused-at-work Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Poll: A third of women say they’ve been sexually harassed or abused at work Nation Nov 21, 2017 5:00 AM EDT A third of American women say they’ve been sexually harassed or abused in the workplace, according to a new poll, highlighting an issue roiling the political, media and entertainment industries. Among women, 35 percent said they’ve been sexually harassed or abused at work, the poll by PBS NewsHour, NPR and Marist found. Nine percent of men said they’ve experienced sexual harassment or abuse at work. Overall, 22 percent of Americans said they have endured sexual harassment or abuse where they work. At the same time, most Americans said their employers protect them as much as possible against this behavior. Eighty-seven percent of Americans said their workplace does enough to protect employees against sexual harassment and abuse. The findings were consistent for men and women, with 88 percent of men and 85 percent of women saying their work offered adequate protections. But Americans are more divided on the issue of who is more likely to be believed after a workplace incident of sexual harassment or abuse is reported. Among U.S. adults, 64 percent said the person who accuses a coworker is more likely to be believed, while 18 percent of respondents said the person who was accused was more likely to believed. The poll comes amid a growing number of sexual assault or harassment accusations against powerful men in politics, Hollywood and journalism. Earlier this year, dozens of women began coming forward with accusations of sexual assault or misconduct against Hollywood power broker Harvey Weinstein. More recently, several women have accused Roy Moore — the Republican nominee for a U.S. Senate seat in Alabama — of sexual assault or misconduct, and several female members of Congress have spoken about being harassed on Capitol Hill. Last week, Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., was also accused of sexual assault. Franken apologized and called for an ethics investigation into his behavior. And Monday the New York Times suspended Glenn Thrush, one of the paper’s star White House reporters, after he was accused in a story of sexual misconduct. TV news host Charlie Rose was suspended from PBS and CBS News after eight women came forward saying he made unwanted sexual advances toward them, the Washington Post reported. PBS NewsHour, NPR and Marist conducted a survey Nov. 13-15 that polled 1,019 U.S. adults, with a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points. By — Laura Santhanam Laura Santhanam Laura Santhanam is the Health Reporter and Coordinating Producer for Polling for the PBS NewsHour, where she has also worked as the Data Producer. Follow @LauraSanthanam @LauraSanthanam
A third of American women say they’ve been sexually harassed or abused in the workplace, according to a new poll, highlighting an issue roiling the political, media and entertainment industries. Among women, 35 percent said they’ve been sexually harassed or abused at work, the poll by PBS NewsHour, NPR and Marist found. Nine percent of men said they’ve experienced sexual harassment or abuse at work. Overall, 22 percent of Americans said they have endured sexual harassment or abuse where they work. At the same time, most Americans said their employers protect them as much as possible against this behavior. Eighty-seven percent of Americans said their workplace does enough to protect employees against sexual harassment and abuse. The findings were consistent for men and women, with 88 percent of men and 85 percent of women saying their work offered adequate protections. But Americans are more divided on the issue of who is more likely to be believed after a workplace incident of sexual harassment or abuse is reported. Among U.S. adults, 64 percent said the person who accuses a coworker is more likely to be believed, while 18 percent of respondents said the person who was accused was more likely to believed. The poll comes amid a growing number of sexual assault or harassment accusations against powerful men in politics, Hollywood and journalism. Earlier this year, dozens of women began coming forward with accusations of sexual assault or misconduct against Hollywood power broker Harvey Weinstein. More recently, several women have accused Roy Moore — the Republican nominee for a U.S. Senate seat in Alabama — of sexual assault or misconduct, and several female members of Congress have spoken about being harassed on Capitol Hill. Last week, Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., was also accused of sexual assault. Franken apologized and called for an ethics investigation into his behavior. And Monday the New York Times suspended Glenn Thrush, one of the paper’s star White House reporters, after he was accused in a story of sexual misconduct. TV news host Charlie Rose was suspended from PBS and CBS News after eight women came forward saying he made unwanted sexual advances toward them, the Washington Post reported. PBS NewsHour, NPR and Marist conducted a survey Nov. 13-15 that polled 1,019 U.S. adults, with a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points.