UN Women: Sexual harassment is a widespread problem in Georgian public service
By Natalia Kochiashvili
Friday, August 24
The authors of a new research report, initiated by the UN Women and in collaboration with the Civil Service Bureau, CRRC-Georgia, introduced the findings to representatives of the legislature and the executive, international and non-governmental organizations. Importantly, this is the first specialized study on the prevalence of sexual harassment in the public service at work and so far data on the problem have been practically non-existent.
In Georgia, 34% of public servants have experienced sexual harassment while working in the public service. The most common victims of sexual harassment are young women under the age of 35. 93% of female public servants consider sexual harassment to be a serious social problem, while only 44% of men think so.
The study reveals that sexual harassment in the workplace is a common but hidden problem in Georgia. Only 10% of the victims have officially reported to the relevant person or agency. Respondents believe that if they report sexual harassment, it will have a negative impact on their careers.
The UN Women report also reflects the attitudes of public officials towards problem response and reporting mechanisms. 98% of respondents think that leaders should take sexual harassment seriously, while 95% believe that perpetrators of sexual harassment should be punished. In addition, 94% say they have the right to report sexual harassment in the workplace, while 80% believe that such notification is an effective way to stop violence. Most of the respondents prefer to be able to inform of such violence within the agency.
It is noteworthy that the UN Women works closely with the Civil Service Bureau to prevent and eliminate sexual harassment in the public service. As part of this collaboration, in 2020-2021, 8 public agencies developed and implemented internal mechanisms to complain about sexual harassment. The organisation expects that important information obtained from the research will play a valuable role in determining the next steps.
In accordance with the international methodologies, the study ran from December 2020 to February 2021, and integrated both quantitative and qualitative parts. The study is part of the UN Women project “Good Governance for Gender Equality in Georgia,” which is funded by the Government of Norway.
