Two in three young women have experienced sexual or moral harassment and verbal abuse at work in the United Kingdom, according to a study by the British union federation TUC published on Friday 12 May. According to the TUC, whose study surveyed 1,000 women, fewer than one in three disclose these incidents because victims of such acts believe they will not be believed or that it could harm their career.

Three out of five women, and two thirds of those between the ages of 25 and 34, claim to have suffered sexual or moral harassment and verbal aggression at work, according to this survey, which also points out that in the vast majority of cases these incidents are were not isolated and reproduced. TUC General Secretary Paul Novak notes in particular that “many women with a contact profession, particularly in commerce, or even doctors or receptionists, are often the target of aggressive behavior by customers and patients”. adds that “Sexual or moral harassment has no place in the modern workplace”.

The TUC is calling on the government not to back down from a UK bill to protect workers from harassment, which the workers’ federation says is being “sabotaged” by Conservative MPs.