Sexual harassment at work ups risk of anxiety, depression in women

WASHINGTON D.C: A study has recently revealed that women who experience sexual harassment at work are more likely to suffer from anxiety, depression, eating disorders and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

The study also found that in order to cope with the situation, these female victims also resort to drink and drugs.

The findings suggested that although most victims are women, still the number of complaints by men have risen by more than 15 percent in just 15 years.

However, the results also found that male victims do not find their experiences as anxiety-provoking as females and nor do they see it as bothersome, stressful or upsetting as females.

Study author Professor James Campbell Quick from the University of Texas in Austin, United States said that the evidence continue to suggest that the female victims may experience negative mood, eating disorders, drug and alcohol abuse as well as work turnover intentions, long term anxiety, job stress and or burnout.

In a recent survey of 2,000 Britons, the team found that one in five women – and seven percent of men – stated that they have been victims of sexual harassment in the workplace.

For the data analysed, they found the total number of complaints actually fell 28.5 percent from 1997 to 2011.

Quick stated that an interesting finding of the study is that the percentage of charges filed by males increased 15.3 per cent; yet, women continue to file the majority of complaints.

Furthermore, the results also found that men in the military are 10 times more likely to experience sexual harassment than civilian peers. But approximately 81 percent of victims do not report it.

The researchers suggested that the organisations need to be proactive in establishing policies prohibiting sexual harassment, raising employee awareness, establishing reporting procedures and educating employees about these policies.

The research appears in the journal of Occupational Health Psychology.