SEXUAL harassment at work “in 2024 is every bit as endemic as it has been for decades before,” according to a damning new report from the STUC women’s committee.

The Still Silent? report’s publication today comes as delegates gather in Glasgow for the annual STUC women’s conference, and outlines the continuing hostile environment women face in the workplace and beyond.

A survey of 512 women in work found that three-quarters said their personal experiences of harassment in the workplace had stayed the same, with only 16 per cent recording improvement and nine per cent saying matters had got worse.

The study also found that 61 per cent said sexual harassment was a growing issue online, with 36 per cent experiencing a deterioration, compared with 59 per cent reporting no change and just 5 per cent noting an improvement.

STUC general secretary Roz Foyer said: “From the office to online, harassment towards women is endemic and we must take a zero-tolerance approach and report, without fear or favour, the perpetrators of abuse.

“The new Worker Protection Act (2023) will, hopefully, go some way in holding employers to account for any harassment conducted within the workplace. But this is just the tip of the iceberg.

“Sexual harassment doesn’t just confine itself to office hours.”

Urging the report to be a “catalyst for change,” STUC women’s committee chairwoman Lorna Glen said: “Their [women’s] voices matter and they should no longer suffer in silence whilst sexual harassment shows no sign of abating within the workplace.

“Our conference this week makes clear that far more must be done.

“We must redouble our efforts to make sure every woman, from every corner of Scotland, feels safe and secure in their work, free from abuse and harassment that damages the lives of so many.”