Sexual Harassment Statistics

The likelihood of an individual experiencing workplace sexual harassment can vary based on the gender composition of their workplace and demographic characteristics.

Sexual Harassment Statistics

Sexual Harassment Resources & FAQs

How Common is Sexual Harassment?

  • Sexual Harassment is defined as unwanted sexual advances, verbal or physical harassment relating to sex, and requests for sexual services. 
  • A 2000 person survey conducted by Growth From Knowledge stated that, nationwide, 81 percent of women and 43 percent of men experience sexual harassment in their lifetime.

Sexual Harassment in the Workplace

  • According to a survey done by CNBC, one in five Americans experience sexual harassment in the workplace.
  • In 2015, the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) reported that 45 percent of their harassment claims were sex-based.
  • The United States adult working population of women is 9% more likely than men to say they experienced sexual harassment.
  • According to the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC):
    • 25 percent of women experience sexual harassment in the workplace.
    • 35 percent of LGBTQ respondents who reported being “open” at work, were sexually harassed.
    • 58 percent of LGBTQ respondents heard derogatory comments about their sexual orientation and gender identity while at work.
    • Between 7 and 41 percent of LGBTQ, respondents were verbally and/or physically abused while at work or had their workspaces vandalized.

Sexual Harassment in the Federal Workplace

A September 2020 study done by the United States Government Accountability Office found that:

  • Women are three times as likely as men to say they experienced sexual harassment.
  • Women are twice as likely as men to report experiencing sexual harassment.
  • Women ages 29 and under experience a 3-5 percent higher rate of sexual harassment than those aged 60.
  • 62 percent of women ages 31-41 reported experiencing sexual harassment.
  • 63 percent of women in science, engineering, and technology reported that they experienced sexual harassment in the workplace.
  • American Indian/Alaska Native women are three times as likely to report experiencing sexual harassment than White non-Hispanic Women.
  • Black American Women are 30 percent less likely than non-Hispanic Whites to report experiencing sexual harassment.

Sexual Harassment on College Campuses

The Association of American Universities surveyed 181,752 college students, 108,221 undergraduate respondents, and 73,531 graduate and professional respondents, about sexual harassment on their college campus.

  • Among all students:
    • 41.8 percent reported experiencing at least one sexually harassing behavior since enrollment.
    • 18.9 percent of students reported that the behavior interfered with their school or professional performance, limited their ability to participate in school, or created an intimidating and offensive work, social, or academic environment.

Most Common Behaviors

  • 27 percent of all surveyed students heard insulting or offensive remarks/jokes.
  • 33.7 percent of all surveyed students heard inappropriate or offensive comments about someone’s physical appearance or sexual activities.
  • 16 percent of all surveyed students reported inappropriate sexual statements said to them or felt pressured to talk about sexual events.

Sexual Harassment on Social Media

  • 8.2 percent of all surveyed students reported offensive materials being sent to them by social media.
  • 11.2 percent of all surveyed students reported other forms of harassment including being asked out on a date. (ex: have dinner, drinks, or sex) repeatedly by a perpetrator even though the student previously said no.

Undergraduate Student Sexual Harassment

  • 59.2 percent of undergraduate women reported experiencing at least one harassing behavior during their college career.
  • 5 percent of undergraduate women stated that they were sexually harassed by a faculty member or instructor.
  • 4.8 percent of undergraduate women identified their teacher, co-worker, boss, or supervisor as the harasser.
  • 65.1 percent TGQN (transgender, genderqueer, non-conforming) reported experiencing at least one harassing behavior during their college career.
  • 9.7 percent of TGQN (transgender, genderqueer, non-conforming) undergraduate students identified a coworker as their harasser.
  • 36.2 percent of undergraduate men reported at least one sexually harassing behavior during their college career.
  • 4.3 percent of undergraduate men stated they were sexually harassed by a faculty member or instructor
  • 38 percent of undergraduate students stated their friend was the harasser.
  • 34.9 percent of undergraduate students stated their classmate was the harasser.
  • 39.6 percent of undergraduate students recognized the harasser but was not associated with them.

Graduate and Professional Student Sexual Harassment

  • Professional and graduate students were most likely to be sexually harassed by a faculty member or an instructor.
  • 24 percent of graduate and professional women stated that they were sexually harassed by a faculty member or instructor.
  • 23 percent of graduate and professional men reported at least one sexually harassing behavior during their college career.
  • 18.2 percent of graduate and professional men were sexually harassed by a faculty member or instructor.
  • 16.5 percent of graduate and professional women identified their teacher, co-worker, boss, or supervisor as the harasser.
  • 19.9 percent of TGQN (transgender, genderqueer, non-conforming) graduate and professional students identified a coworker as their harasser.

Do Victims of Workplace Sexual Harassment Report it?

  • The United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) files, on average, 7,221 sexual harassment allegations every year.
  • The EEOC study on harassment in the workplace reported only 6-13 percent of individuals file a formal sexual harassment complaint.
  • A 2016 survey of federal government employees  conducted by The United States Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) stated:
    • Only 11 percent of people who experience sexual harassment actually file a formal complaint.
    • 30 percent of people who experience sexual harassment spoke with a manager, supervisor, or union representative.
    • 70 percent of people never spoke about their sexual harassment experience.
    • Only 11 percent of people who experienced sexual harassment actually filed a formal complaint.
  • A 2003 study in the Journal of Occupational Health Psychology found that 75 percent of employees who spoke out against workplace mistreatment faced some sort of retaliation.

Common Employers Responses to Workplace Sexual Harassment

  • According to the EEOC,
    • 33 percent to 75 percent of employers state to avoid the harasser.
    • 54 percent to 73 percent of employers state to downplay the situation.
    • 44 percent to 70 percent of employers state to ignore or forget the behavior altogether.

Where Sexual Harassment Victims go for Help

  • According to the EEOC,
    • 27 percent to 37 percent of women who experience sexual harassment turn to their family members for help.
    • 50 percent to 75 percent of women who experience sexual harassment turn to their friends or other trusted individuals.

The Cost of Sexual Harassment

The EEOC from 2010-2020, on average, received $48.36 million dollars in financial benefits for employees who filed sexual harassment claims.

Year Charges Filed Charges Resolved Financial Compensation (Millions)
2010 7,944 8,959 $41.20
2011 7,809 9,195 $45.10
2012 7,571 8,924 $43.00
2013 7,256 7,758 $44.60
2014 6,862 7,037 $35.00
2015 6,822 7,289 $46.00
2016 6,758 7,433 $40.70
2017 6,696 7,511 $46.30
2018 7,609 7,986 $56.60
2019 7,514 7,875 $68.20
2020 6,587 7,278 $65.30

 

Workplace Sexual Harassment Charges By State

Year 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
States Total Charges Per State Total Charges Per State Total Charges Per State Total Charges Per State Total Charges Per State Total Charges Per State Total Charges Per State Total Charges Per State Total Charges Per State Total Charges Per State Total Charges Per State
Alabama State Total 280 263 296 245 234 229 233 232 245 242 178
Alaska State Total 8 4 6 7 7 7 5 7 9 5 5
Arizona State Total 300 282 283 326 267 194 198 191 219 215 184
Arkansas State Total 108 119 139 106 104 105 113 111 102 96 92
California State Total 474 449 515 436 441 388 345 356 325 344 313
Colorado State Total 201 188 202 169 157 180 167 164 166 134 145
Connecticut State Total 19 14 15 17 9 11 10 6 19 16 27
Delaware State Total 8 24 11 9 6 6 9 2 5 14 27
District of Columbia State Total 48 45 40 38 37 29 28 28 31 33 22
Florida State Total 775 721 701 651 718 637 651 587 730 654 673
Georgia State Total 410 423 426 418 357 362 395 431 457 465 349
Hawaii State Total 23 20 27 29 30 24 20 29 34 51 46
Idaho State Total 10 10 7 6 3 9 10 1 2 3 8
Illinois State Total 364 402 322 343 291 323 354 349 526 361 328
Indiana State Total 262 211 233 213 191 211 182 172 172 188 144
Iowa State Total 12 11 10 12 14 9 3 9 14 23 22
Kansas State Total 77 73 71 69 61 56 64 66 103 180 95
Kentucky State Total 102 80 83 75 63 78 76 75 71 57 55
Louisiana State Total 192 164 178 155 152 146 128 157 168 189 133
Maine State Total 5 2 0 2 2 0 1 3 4 4 2
Maryland State Total 213 143 143 151 119 148 172 129 145 131 120
Massachusetts State Total 28 31 31 30 29 29 37 34 32 44 24
Michigan State Total 169 268 155 172 167 169 164 164 225 215 125
Minnesota State Totale 71 71 47 64 72 67 62 54 45 51 65
Mississippi State Total 141 123 160 163 159 125 131 157 125 125 103
Missouri State Total 201 178 142 135 133 155 200 189 191 231 213
Montana State Total 1 2 1 1 1 3 3 2 2 7 8
Nebraska State Total 7 12 3 2 5 4 7 8 5 10 18
Nevada State Total 107 106 116 118 114 117 101 100 110 109 92
New Hampshire State Total 1 3 3 2 5 2 2 18 2 10 2
New Jersey State Total 93 80 81 65 64 51 84 97 104 124 91
New Mexico State Total 109 108 129 107 94 81 80 77 85 45 40
New York State Total 362 415 446 353 432 390 407 379 451 442 414
North Carolina State Total 370 361 346 284 229 296 265 231 318 313 269
North Dakota State Total 4 3 12 7 13 16 7 2 8 9 8
Ohio State Total 303 325 276 258 264 277 269 268 292 324 246
Oklahoma State Total 179 186 165 188 158 148 123 98 117 98 108
Oregon State Total 13 17 25 24 25 32 22 32 15 20 18
Pennsylvania State Total 414 373 318 317 249 301 311 268 420 410 414
Rhode Island State Total 3 5 3 3 3 2 2 3 5 6 3
South Carolina State Total 105 132 112 85 111 109 101 136 144 116 120
South Dakota State Total 3 5 2 2 3 2 5 6 4 6 9
Tennesse State Total 294 272 273 247 285 257 245 247 265 246 226
Texas State Total 853 893 812 842 769 809 791 742 737 796 700
Utah State Total 21 29 20 38 33 48 30 37 36 37 23
Vermont State Total 6 3 1 0 3 4 1 2 4 1 5
Virginia State Total 226 190 245 255 233 168 205 203 232 205 179
Washington State Total 89 99 87 98 75 99 117 109 113 92 74
West Virginia State Total 10 11 13 9 14 5 7 10 9 3 10
Wisconsin State Total 50 42 65 53 48 55 53 53 62 67 42
Wyoming State Total 7 6 7 8 10 6 7 3 3 5 3
Total Cases Per Year 8,017 7,869 7,702 7,317 6,987 6,885 6,914 6,718 7,609 7,514 6,587

*The following data represents sexual harassment charges filed from 2010-2020 with the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the state and local Fair Employment Practices Agencies around the country that have a work-sharing agreement with the commission.*

Top Ten States for Sexual Harassment Charges

Below are the top ten states with the most sexual harassment cases per year between the years 2010-2020 as filed with the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

Texas

  • Texas averaged 794.9 sexual harassment cases per year between the years 2010-2020.
  • From 2010-2020, Texas made up 10.9 percent of all cases filed with the EEOC and the state and local Fair Employment Practices Agencies.

Florida

  • Florida averaged 681.6 sexual harassment cases per year between the years 2010-2020.
  • From 2010-2020, Florida made up 9.3 percent of all cases filed with the EEOC and the state and local Fair Employment Practices Agencies.

Georgia

  • Georgia averaged 408.4 sexual harassment cases per year between the years 2010-2020.
  • From 2010-2020, Georgia made up 5.6 percent of all cases filed with the EEOC and the state and local Fair Employment Practices Agencies.

New York:

  • New York averaged 408.3 sexual harassment cases per year between the years 2010-2020.
  • From 2010-2020,  New York made up 5.6% of all cases filed with the EEOC and the state and local Fair Employment Practices Agencies.

California

  • California averaged 398.7 sexual harassment cases per year between the years 2010-2020.
  • From 2010-2020, California made up 5.5 percent of all cases filed with the EEOC and the state and local Fair Employment Practices Agencies.

Illinois

  • Illinois averaged 360.3 sexual harassment cases per year between the years 2010-2020.
  • From 2010-2020, Illinois made up 4.9 percent of all cases filed with the EEOC and the state and local Fair Employment Practices Agencies.

Pennsylvania

  • Pennsylvania averaged 345 sexual harassment cases per year between the years 2010-2020.
  • From 2010-2020, Pennsylvania made up 4.7 percent of all cases filed with the EEOC and the state and local Fair Employment Practices Agencies.

North Carolina

  • North Carolina averaged 298.4 sexual harassment cases per year between the years 2010-2020.
  • From 2010-2020,  North Carolina made up 4.1 percent of all cases filed with the EEOC and the state and local Fair Employment Practices Agencies.

Ohio

  • Ohio averaged 282 sexual harassment cases per year between the years 2010-2020.
  • From 2010-2020,  Ohio made up 3.9 percent of all cases filed with the EEOC and the state and local Fair Employment Practices Agencies.

Tennessee

  • Tennessee averaged 259.7 sexual harassment cases per year between the years 2010-2020.
  • From 2010-2020,  Tennessee made up 3.6 percent of all cases filed with the EEOC and the state and local Fair Employment Practices Agencies.

*percentages are rounded to the nearest tenth*

Sources:
The United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission 
The United States Merit Systems Protection Board
Association of American Universities
United States Government Accountability Office