Almost 40% of female Scottish survey respondents report inappropriate touching

Leader Live

08-07-2025

The survey, run by trade union Unite, polled more than 6,000 women across the UK – 1,143 of whom were in Scotland.
Of those north of the border, 37.5% reported unwanted touching at work, while just under 10% said they had been sexually assaulted and 4.6% said they had been a victim of sexual coercion.
Unite's general secretary Sharon Graham said the findings – part of the union's Zero Tolerance to Sexual Harassment campaign – were 'damning'.
'Nobody should suffer sexual harassment in the workplace,' she said.
'Unite is committed to taking a zero-tolerance approach and we will put every Scottish based employer turning a blind eye on notice.
'We will fight every step of the way to stamp out workplace harassment once and for all.
'Every worker deserves a safe working environment and should feel able to report harassment.'
Elsewhere in the survey, more than half said they had been told sexually offensive jokes, while 45.6% experienced unwanted flirting or sexual remarks – and 13.6% said they had been shown pornography by a colleague.
Despite 45% of women who were harassed saying it had happened more than twice and 38.8% saying it had happened more than once, almost three quarters said they had not reported the incidents.
The figures come despite the Worker Protection Act coming into force last year, imposing a duty on employers to prevent sexual harassment.
The union's equalities officer in Scotland Lorna Glen said the legislation 'has not gone far enough' to protect women.
'Employers are not taking their obligations seriously despite the fact it is the law,' she said.
'This is creating a culture where sexual harassment is going unreported, while those who do take the issues forward are left feeling disbelieved, forced to work with abusers and even losing their roles.'
The UK Government has been contacted for comment.