One in three UN workers experienced sexual harassment in last 2 years: Survey

One in three staff and non-staff personnel at the UN experienced sexual harassment in the last two years, a new report released by the world body said, amid the global #MeToo movement against sexual harassment and assault.

The confidential survey obtained information on sexual harassment across the United Nations system and related entities globally. The survey was completed by 30,364 staff and non-staff personnel from across 31 entities, representing a 17 per cent response rate overall.

The survey 'Safe Space: Survey on Sexual Harassment in our Workplace' found that one in three (33 per cent) respondents reported that they had experienced at least one instance of sexual harassment in the last two years.

Overall, 10,032 out of the total 30,364 respondents (33 per cent) had experienced an incident of sexual harassment in the last two years.

One in five survey respondents (20.2 per cent) reported experiencing at least one type of sexual harassment prior to 2016. The overall prevalence rate was 38.7 per cent (any sexual harassment incident experienced while working with the UN, independent of time period).

In a letter to the UN staff, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said that the response rate overall was "moderately low."