HOW PREVALENT IS SEXUAL HARASSMENT - A RESEARCH NOTE ON MEASURING SEXUAL HARASSMENT IN CANADA

Surveys documenting the prevalence of sexual harassment in Canada are hindered by four problems: the lack of mutually exclusive, behavioural ly based survey items; the lack of exhaustive categories; inappropriat e time frames for items; and a lack of context for these survey items. We compare the results from the 1983 Canadian Human Rights Commission study and the 1994 Violence Against Women survey to highlight these f our common problems found in sexual harassment surveys. The Violence A gainst Women survey overcomes several of these problems and provides r eliable estimates of the prevalence of sexual harassment. According to the Violence Against Women survey, 54 percent of Canadian women exper ience sexual harassment over their lifetime by known men in general an d twenty-three percent experience sexual harassment by known men in wo rkplace positions. This survey though, does appear to under-represent the amount of poisoned environment harassment experienced by Canadian women.