16 January 2019•Update: 16 January 2019
By Michael Hernandez
WASHINGTON
One-third of UN staffers and contractors said they have been sexually harassed in the past two years, the international body said in a report released late Tuesday evening.
Consulting firm Deloitte carried out the online survey in November, which included responses from over 30,000 people, but that is just 17 percent of those who were sent the electronic questionnaire.
In a letter to UN workers upon the release of the "Safe Space: Survey on Sexual Harassment in our Workplace," Secretary General Antonio Guterres called the response rate "moderately low."
"This tells me two things: first - that we still have a long way to go before we are able to fully and openly discuss sexual harassment; and second - that there may also be an ongoing sense of mistrust, perceptions of inaction and lack of accountability," wrote Guterres.
Roughly 22 percent of those who said they experienced sexual harassment said they were subjected to sexual stories or jokes they found offensive, 14 percent had experienced offensive remarks about their appearance, body or sexual activities, and 13 percent said they were the target of unwanted attempts to draw them into talking about sexual matters.
About 10 percent of people said they were touched in a matter they were uncomfortable with while another 10 percent said they were exposed to sexual gestures or suggestive body language.
Only a third said they took action as a result of experience sexual assault.
The results of the "Safe Space Survey Report," Guterres wrote, "confirm that this issue has a debilitating effect on staff morale and work performance, and that there are continued barriers to reporting, including a fear of retaliation and a perception that perpetrators, for the most part, enjoy impunity."
In all, 10,032 out of the total 30,364 respondents reported an experience of sexual assault.
The UN is expected to brief reporters Wednesday on the report.
