80% men 'overly cautious' with women at work after MeToo, shows study

In the wake of the #MeToo movement, almost 80 per cent of men have become overly cautious in their interactions with women colleagues, according to a report.  

The study by market research and analysis company Velocity MR, which had over 2,500 respondents across Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Hyderabad, and Chennai, noted that eight out of 10 people said that formal workplace interactions have been highly impacted as a result of the movement.

It found that close to 80 per cent of the respondents said fear of losing their career, family reputation, social stigma, and scepticism could be some of the reasons for the victims not reporting the cases earlier.

Also, around 70 per cent of the respondents agreed that even after reporting the cases, victims still face threats.

The study further observed that close to 50 per cent of the respondents disapproved of victims reporting the abuse later, while two in five males supported the victims saying they are right in reporting the abuse later.

About seven in every 10 respondents said that encouraging the affected women to be independent can possibly help them speak up about the abuse. 

"Although the majority of cases coming up in #MeToo are from the media-bollywood industry, other industries are not considered safe by close to 77 per cent of the respondents," it said.

The survey also revealed that 83 per cent of the respondents believe that there are cases of false allegations in the wake of #MeToo.

"In spite of respondents feeling that there are false allegations, four out of five are hopeful that this would bring about a good change," it reiterated.