Why Does Under Reporting of Sexual Harassment Continue to Prevail in the Workplace in the 21st Century

Abstract

The Research Question for this dissertation is Why does underreporting of sexual harassment still continue to prevail in the workplace in the 21 century. Results of A Survey done by the Bar Association in 2017 said that 70 percent of women did not report sexual harassment in India (Chachra Manish, 2017). According to Statistics conducted by Canada General Social Survey 472,000 women have been reported of sexual assault. Yet data collected by the police showed that only 27000 women have been victims of sexual assault, only 7,951 persons were convicted. A poll done by the Global News found that one in 5 women have reported cases of sexual harassment (Anna Mahler Paperny, 2015). The question that one needs to ask is why even in the 21 century do women hesitant to report cases of sexual harassment. Is it because of the patriarchal culture which constantly engages in the practice of victim blaming, is it because that in most institution it is the women who is mostly penalized for reporting sexual harassment or is it because the women is uncomfortable in reporting issues of sexual harassment because she feels her reputation will be tainted.the thesis seeks to understand the issue of sexual harassment in the workplace , primarily focusing on analysis of reasons and circumstances that leads to underreporting of sexual harassment in the workplace and providing policy recommendations for the same.