As women from various professions have been participating in the #MeToo movement, cases of sexual harassment, especially at workplaces, seem to have been on the rise.
YouGov India, a market research company, conducted a pan-India survey between 16 and 22 October, including both men and women with over 1,000 respondents from urban centres. A series of 21 survey-questions framed around the areas of sexual harassment and the #MeToo movement formed parts of the survey.
With reference to findings of the survey presented as a five-part series of infographics, it was learnt how personal experiences of sexual harassment shaped their perception on the matter.
Divided into four categories: ‘North’, ‘South’, ‘East’ and ‘West’, the respondents viewed ‘physical intimacy without consent’ as the most evident form of sexual harassment, especially in the North. Meanwhile, in the East, ‘whistling, lewd gestures and name-calling’ was concurred as the most apparent aspect of sexual harassment.
Significantly, over a third of respondents from eastern states said that the #MeToo campaign had made them more cautious about hiring members of the opposite sex and 44% from the same category also turned more cautious of forming romantic relationships, due to this viral social media campaign.
However, a quarter of respondents from western states stated that the MeToo campaign did not impact them in any way, whatsoever.
The survey finds that over half the respondents aged 30 and above admitted that they have become more careful about how they interact with members of the opposite sex since the start of the movement. Significantly, nearly a quarter of respondents aged 30 to 39 fear that something they said or did in the past may be used against them as part of MeToo.
The survey also found that Bollywood, as an industry seems to be the most prone to sexual harassment in India.
More analysis and findings from the survey can be found here.