The Facts: Sexual Harassment

STATISTICS IN CANADA

• One in three women aged 15 to 24 experienced unwanted sexual behaviour and were twice as likely to experience this behaviour compared to those 35 or older

• 52% of women in Canada have been subject to sexual harassment in the workplace

• 28% have experienced non-consensual sexual touching at work

• Women with disabilities are 2.3 times more likely to experience harassment than women without a disability

WHAT IS SEXUAL HARASSMENT?

Sexual harassment is any unwelcome/inappropriate sexual behavior expressed at a target, and what is considered unwelcome/inappropriate is determined by the target of the behavior. Forms of harassment can include:

• PHYSICAL HARASSMENT

  • Intentionally brushing up on someone

  • Standing/sitting/moving too close to someone despite their discomfort

  • Grabbing, massaging, pinching, fondling a person’s body part

  • Messing someone’s clothes to expose a body part

  • Sending unwanted gifts

  • Stalking

• VERBAL HARASSMENT

  • Catcalling, name-calling, body shaming

  • Dirty or sexist jokes

  • Bragging about sexual prowess or history

  • Intrusive questions about a person’s sexuality or sexual activity

  • Unwanted communication through conversations, phone calls, texts, emails or social media comments

• VISUAL & CYBER HARASSMENT

  • Self-exposure (in person or online)

  • Sending sexually explicit images or objects to the target

  • Creating and/or distributing sexually explicit images of the target or using the target’s likeness without their permission (e.g., sharing nudes without consent, deepfakes)

  • Making obscene gestures

  • Taking pictures of the target without their consent

  • Leering or staring at the target for long periods of time or while in a vulnerable/private moment (e.g., spying on someone undressing without their knowledge in-person or through a hidden camera)

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SEXUAL HARASSMENT: MYTHS VS. REALITY

MYTH: Sexual harassment is just harmless flirting (or a sign the other person likes you).

REALITY: Flirting is a consensual activity that both persons choose to participate and feels good to both. Harassment is one-sided and makes the target feel threatened, unsafe, or uncomfortable. Regardless of how the perpetrator feels about the target, the harassment does not reflect good intentions.

MYTH: Targets are sexually harassed because of their dating history or their appearance.

REALITY: Targets are harassed regardless of their dating history or their appearance.

MYTH: If a target has laughed or dismissed the behavior before, then it was not harassment.

REALITY: Laughing or not responding to harassment does not mean that it is not harassment. Oftentimes targets will laugh or ignore the behavior to avoid escalation and out of fear of the perpetrator. Even if the target did not express their discomfort, or didn’t know the act was wrong at the time, it does not mean the behavior was not a form of harassment.

MYTH: It is not harassment if the perpetrator compliments the target, or if they are known to the target. It is only harassment if the perpetrator is a stranger, or if they threaten the target.

REALITY: Regardless of their relationship with the perpetrator, any unwanted sexual/suggestive comments, gestures, or behaviors towards a target, are still forms of harassment.

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DUE TO THE COMPLICATIONS AND RISK OF GREATER VIOLENCE AND ABUSE, TRAINED PROFESSIONAL ASSISTANCE MAY BE REQUIRED. FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE PROCEED TO SUPPORT SERVICES.

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“If your flirting strategy is
indistinguishable from harassment,
it’s not everyone else that’s the problem.”

J O H N S C A L Z I

• References

  • Canadian Women’s Foundation. “The Facts About Sexual Assault and Harassment.“ Nov 2022.

  • Cristall, Jonathan. “What They Don’t Teach Teens: Life Safety Skills for Teens and the Adults Who Care for Them.” Quill Driver Books. 2020.

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