Sexual harassment

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Statistics about sexual harassment, including victimisation rates, socio-demographics, behaviour types, location and other incident characteristics

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Reference period
2021-22 financial year
Released
23/08/2023
Next release Unknown
First release

Key statistics

1.3 million women have experienced sexual harassment in the last 12 months. Of these women:

  • 70% experienced face-to-face harassment 
  • 57% experienced harassment electronically
  • 97% were harassed by a male perpetrator

426,800 men have experienced sexual harassment in the last 12 months.

About this release

This release presents detailed sexual harassment statistics from the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ (ABS) 2021-22 Personal Safety Survey (PSS).

The survey collected information from persons aged 18 years and over about the nature and extent of their experiences of violence.

Summary statistics on all topics collected in the PSS can be found in Personal Safety, Australia.

For lifetime sexual harassment prevalence data from 2016, refer to the ‘Experience of sexual harassment’ section of the 2016 Personal Safety, Australia publication.

The ABS would like to thank those who participated in the survey and acknowledges the experiences of people affected by sexual harassment who are represented in this report.

Some people may find the contents of this report confronting or distressing. Support services are available: 1800RESPECT – 1800 737 732, Lifeline – 13 11 14.

COVID-19 context

The 2021-22 PSS was conducted between March 2021 and May 2022 during the COVID-19 pandemic. Throughout this time, government policies were in place to reduce the spread of COVID-19, including stay-at-home orders, border control measures, limits on gatherings, and social distancing rules. The survey results should be understood and interpreted within the broader context of the wide-ranging changes to everyday life during the pandemic.

Data quality and interpretation

In the written commentary, where a prevalence rate is described as higher or lower than a comparative rate, or one group is described as more or less likely to have experienced sexual harassment than another group, the difference has been found to be statistically significant at the 95% confidence level.

Figures marked with an asterisk (*) have a relative standard error of between 25% and 50% and should be used with caution.

While the PSS collects the same information from both men and women, detailed socio-demographic and characteristic data for men who experienced sexual harassment are not sufficiently statistically reliable to include in the commentary. Summary statistics for men are available in the data downloads.

For more information about statistical significance, relative standard error, and men’s data quality, refer to the Personal Safety, Australia Methodology.

Definition of sexual harassment

In the PSS, sexual harassment is considered to have occurred when a person has experienced or been subjected to one or more selected behaviours which they found improper or unwanted, which made them feel uncomfortable, or were offensive due to their sexual nature. The PSS collects information about selected types of sexual harassment behaviours, including:

  • Indecent phone call
  • Indecent text, email or post
  • Indecent exposure
  • Inappropriate comments about body or sex life
  • Unwanted touching, grabbing, kissing, or fondling
  • Distributing or posting pictures or videos of the person, which were sexual in nature, without their consent
  • Exposure to pictures, videos or materials, which were sexual in nature, that the person did not wish to see

For more definitions of the terms used throughout the commentary, refer to the Glossary.

Prevalence rates

Prevalence rate refers to the number of women and men who have experienced sexual harassment in the last 12 months, expressed as a percentage of all women and men aged 18 years and over.

In 2021-22, an estimated 1.7 million people (8.7%) experienced sexual harassment in the last 12 months, including:

  • 13% of women (1.3 million)
  • 4.5% of men (426,800) 

Whether experienced sexual harassment in the last 12 months(a)

Row 1: 9.9m women, 9.5m men live in Australia. Row 2: 1.3m women (13%), 426,800 men (4.5%) experienced sexual harassment. Row 3: 1.2m women (12%), 310,800 men (3.3%) experienced sexual harassment by a male. 110,900 women (1.1%) and 250,400 men (2.6%) experienced sexual harassment by a female.

The flow chart’s top level shows that there were 9.9 million women and 9.5 million men aged 18 years and over living in Australia in 2021-22.

The second level shows that 1.3 million women (13%) and 426,800 men (4.5%) experienced sexual harassment in the last 12 months. It also shows that 8.7 million women (87%) and 9.1 million men (95%) did not experience sexual harassment.

The third level shows that, in the last 12 months: 1.2 million women (12%) and 310,800 men (3.3%) experienced sexual harassment by a male; and 110,900 women (1.1%) and 250,400 men (2.6%) experienced sexual harassment by a female.

Footnotes:

  1. Where a person has experienced sexual harassment by both a male and a female, they are counted separately for each type of sexual harassment experienced but are counted only once in the aggregated total.

Prevalence rates by sex of perpetrator

For women, the perpetrator of sexual harassment was most often a male:

  • 1.2 million women (12%) experienced sexual harassment by a male
  • 110,900 women (1.1%) experienced sexual harassment by a female

Men were about as likely to experience sexual harassment by a male as by a female:

  • 310,800 men (3.3%) experienced sexual harassment by a male
  • 250,400 men (2.6%) experienced sexual harassment by a female

Changes over time

12-month sexual harassment prevalence rates in 2021-22 have been compared with prevalence rates from earlier surveys (2012 and 2016) to measure changes over time.

Where the rate is described as having increased or decreased, this has been found to be statistically significant at the 95% confidence level.

Since the survey first collected sexual harassment data in 2012, the 12-month prevalence rate has decreased for both women and men:

  • for women, the rate decreased from 15% in 2012 to 13% in 2021-22
  • for men, the rate decreased from 6.6% in 2012 to 4.5% in 2021-22
12-month sexual harassment prevalence rate(a), 2012 to 2021-22(b)
 WomenMen
 201220162021-22201220162021-22
Sexual harassment by a male(d)14.0%(e)16.1%12.2%3.6%4.5%3.3%
Sexual harassment by a female(d)2.8%(e)4.1%1.1%4.0%(e)6.7%2.6%
Total sexual harassment(c)(d)14.8%(e)17.3%12.6%(d)6.6%(e)9.3%4.5%
  1. Refers to the number of men/women who have experienced sexual harassment in the last 12 months, expressed as a percentage of all men/women aged 18 years and over.
  2. While the data are comparable across the time series, the list of behaviours asked about in the survey has expanded over time. New behaviours that were added from 2016 onwards include 'Had pictures or videos of themselves, which were sexual in nature, distributed or posted without their consent' and 'Exposed to pictures, videos, or other materials which were sexual in nature and which they did not wish to see.'
  3. Where a person has experienced sexual harassment by both a male and a female, they are counted separately for each type of sexual harassment experienced but are counted only once in the aggregated total.
  4. The difference in the prevalence rate between 2021-22 and 2012 is statistically significant.
  5. The difference in the prevalence rate between 2021-22 and 2016 is statistically significant.

Since the survey was last conducted in 2016, the 12-month prevalence rate of sexual harassment for women decreased from 17% in 2016 to 13% in 2021-22. This was driven by a decrease in the rate of sexual harassment by both a male (from 16% to 12%) and by a female (from 4.1% to 1.1%).

For men, the 12-month prevalence rate of sexual harassment decreased from 9.3% in 2016 to 4.5% in 2021-22. This was driven by a decrease in the rate of sexual harassment by a female (from 6.7% to 2.6%).

Prevalence rates by behaviour type

Between 2016 and 2021-22, the proportion of women who experienced sexual harassment in the last 12 months decreased across all the sexual harassment behaviours, except for having pictures or videos of themselves, which were sexual in nature, distributed or posted without their consent, where there was no statistically significant change.

  1. Refers to the total number of women who have experienced the sexual harassment behaviour in the last 12 months, expressed as a percentage of all women aged 18 years and over.
  2. More than one sexual harassment behaviour may have been experienced.
  3. Behaviour not collected in 2012.

Prevalence rates by age

Between 2016 and 2021-22, the proportion of women who experienced sexual harassment in the last 12 months decreased across all age groups, except for the 18-to-24-year age group, where there was no statistically significant change.

  1. Refers to the number of women in each age group who have experienced sexual harassment in the last 12 months, expressed as a percentage of all women in each age group.

Socio-demographic characteristics

This section compares 12-month sexual harassment prevalence rates of women from different socio-demographic groups and identifies groups who were more likely to experience sexual harassment in the last 12 months.

Some people may find the contents of this section confronting or distressing. Support services are available: 1800RESPECT – 1800 737 732, Lifeline – 13 11 14, or Rainbow Sexual, Domestic and Family Violence Helpline - 1800 497 212.

Age

The prevalence of sexual harassment decreased with age, with women aged 18 to 24 years the most likely to have experienced sexual harassment (35%), and women aged 65 years and over the least likely (3.2%).

Sexual orientation

Women who identified as gay, lesbian, bisexual or who used a different term such as asexual, pansexual or queer were more likely to have experienced sexual harassment (37%) than women who identified as heterosexual (11%).

For both groups, the majority of those who experienced sexual harassment in the last 12 months experienced it by a male perpetrator.

12-month sexual harassment prevalence rate(a), By sexual orientation(b) and sex of perpetrator
 HeterosexualGay, lesbian, bisexual or different term(c)
Sexual harassment by a male perpetrator11.0%36.0%
Sexual harassment by a female perpetrator0.9%6.1%
Total sexual harassment(d)11.3%36.6%
  1. Refers to the number of women in the relevant population who have experienced sexual harassment in the last 12 months, expressed as a percentage of all women aged 18 years and over in the relevant population.
  2. Refers to the sexual orientation of the woman at the time of interview.
  3. Different terms that people may use to describe their sexual orientation include asexual, pansexual and queer.
  4. Where a woman has experienced sexual harassment by both a male and a female, they are counted separately for each but are counted only once in the aggregated total.

Women who identified as bisexual were more likely to have experienced sexual harassment (45%) than women who identified as gay or lesbian (23%).

Disability

Women with disability were more likely to have experienced sexual harassment (14%) than women without disability (12%).

Labour force status

Unemployed women were more likely to have experienced sexual harassment (29%) than employed women (15%) and women not in the labour force (7.4%).

Current study status

Women who were currently studying were more likely to have experienced sexual harassment (26%) than women who were not studying (11%).

Country of birth

Women born in Australia were more likely to have experienced sexual harassment (14%) than women born overseas (8.4%).

Capital city/balance of state

Women living in a capital city were more likely to have experienced sexual harassment (14%) than women living outside of a capital city (11%).

Financial stress

The rate of sexual harassment was higher for women living in households that:

  • experienced one or more cash flow problems in the last 12 months (27%) compared with households that did not experience cash flow problems (11%)
  • were unable to raise $2,000 within a week for something important (19%) compared with households that could raise the money (12%)

Characteristics of sexual harassment experienced by women

This section examines the characteristics of sexual harassment experienced by women in the last 12 months. Women may have experienced multiple sexual harassment behaviours by the same perpetrator or different perpetrator types. The denominator for all proportions in this section is total women who experienced sexual harassment in the last 12 months.

Sexual harassment behaviours

Of the 1.3 million women who experienced sexual harassment in the last 12 months:

  • 63% (792,900) received inappropriate comments about their body or sex life
  • 40% (505,100) received an indecent text, email, or post
  • 32% (401,700) experienced unwanted touching, grabbing, kissing, or fondling
  • 18% (220,100) were exposed to pictures or videos, which were sexual in nature, that they did not wish to see
  • 14% (170,300) received an indecent phone call
  • 10% (126,900) experienced indecent exposure
  • 4.1% (51,700) had pictures or videos of themselves, which were sexual in nature, distributed or posted without their consent
  1. In the last 12 months.
  2. Proportion refers to the total number of women who experienced a specific behaviour, expressed as a percentage of all women aged 18 years and over who experienced sexual harassment in the last 12 months.
  3. More than one sexual harassment behaviour may have been experienced.

Number of sexual harassment behaviours experienced

The PSS asks people about their experiences of seven selected sexual harassment behaviours in the last 12 months. The number of sexual harassment behaviours experienced is not a measure of the number of times a person experienced sexual harassment, as people may have experienced multiple incidents of the same behaviour type, either by the same perpetrator or different perpetrator types, but are only counted once for the behaviour.

Of the 1.3 million women who experienced sexual harassment in the last 12 months, nearly half (45%) experienced more than one harassment behaviour, including:

  • 23% (293,000) who experienced two behaviours
  • 12% (145,100) who experienced three behaviours
  • 9.5% (119,300) who experienced four or more behaviours

Relationship to all perpetrators of sexual harassment

Women who experienced sexual harassment were more likely to experience it by a male than by a female:

  • 97% (1.2 million) experienced sexual harassment by a male
  • 8.9% (110,900) experienced sexual harassment by a female

Of women who experienced sexual harassment, more experienced it by a known person (63%) than by a stranger (55%), including the following known perpetrator types:

  • 27% (332,400) by a work/professional relationship
  • 20% (244,700) by an acquaintance or neighbour
  • 15% (193,000) by an intimate partner
  • 14% (170,900) by a friend or housemate

Method and location of sexual harassment

Of women who experienced sexual harassment, more experienced it face-to-face (70%) than electronically (57%), including at the following locations:

  • 29% (358,200) at a place of entertainment or recreation
  • 26% (320,200) at work
  • 21% (261,700) at a residential location
  • 19% (231,200) outside
  1. In the last 12 months.
  2. Proportion refers to the number of women who experienced sexual harassment in the selected location, expressed as a percentage of all women aged 18 years and over who experienced sexual harassment in the last 12 months.
  3. Location information was not collected from persons who only experienced sexual harassment electronically.
  4. Sexual harassment may have been experienced in more than one location.
  5. Includes car, truck, ute, etc.

Glossary

Show all

Disability

Any limitation, restriction or impairment which restricts everyday activities and has lasted, or is likely to last, for at least six months.

Distributing or posting pictures or videos of the person, that were sexual in nature, without their consent

Includes:

  • Taking a photo or video which was sexual in nature without the person’s consent, or showing/sending/posting the photos/videos which were sexual in nature without the person’s consent

Exposed to pictures, videos, or materials which were sexual in nature that the person did not wish to see

Includes:

  • Emailing the person or making them watch pornography
  • Displaying posters, magazines or screen savers of a sexual nature for the person to see

Inappropriate comments about body or sex life

Includes:

  • Inappropriate comments in a group situation as well as when the person is alone with the perpetrator who is harassing them
  • Sexual comments that are related to the person’s race, such as implying that people of a particular cultural group have certain sexual characteristics

Indecent phone call

Includes:

  • Phone calls that went to voicemail or answering machines

Excludes:

  • Phone calls or messages in which profanity was used, unless this was offensive due to its sexual nature
  • Phone calls or messages involving racial vilification, unless this was offensive due to its sexual content
  • Phone calls or messages that were part of a stalking incident (these are defined and recorded as stalking)

Indecent text, email or post

Includes:

  • Electronic messages (such as text messages, SMS, MMS, posts on Facebook, emails, or other Internet messages)
  • Written messages (such as letters delivered by mail or notes) left where they could be found by the person
  • 'Post’ includes both posting information on internet social networking sites, and post sent via the mail

Excludes:

  • Messages in which profanity was used, unless this was offensive due to its sexual content
  • Messages involving racial vilification, unless this was offensive due to its sexual content
  • Messages that were part of a stalking incident (these are defined and recorded as stalking)

Indecent exposure

Includes:

  • Exposing genitals for the purpose of distressing, shocking, humiliating and/or generating fear in a person

Intimate partner

Includes current partner (living with), previous partner (has lived with), boyfriend/girlfriend/date and ex-boyfriend/ex-girlfriend (never lived with).

Prevalence

Refers to the number and proportion (rate) of persons in a given population who have experienced sexual harassment in the last 12 months (prior to the survey).

Relationship to perpetrator

Relationship to perpetrator refers to the relationship of the perpetrator(s) to the person at the time of the interview, as perceived by the person who the sexual harassment was directed against.

Relative Standard Error

Relative Standard Error (RSE) is the standard error expressed as a percentage of the estimate. For more information, refer to the Data processing section of the Personal Safety, Australia methodology.

Sexual harassment

Sexual harassment is considered to have occurred when a person has experienced or been subjected to one or more selected behaviours which they found improper or unwanted, which made them feel uncomfortable, or were offensive due to their sexual nature. The PSS collects information about selected types of sexual harassment behaviours, including:

  • Indecent phone call
  • Indecent text, email or post
  • Indecent exposure
  • Inappropriate comments about body or sex life
  • Unwanted touching, grabbing, kissing, or fondling
  • Distributing or posting pictures or videos of the person, which were sexual in nature, without their consent
  • Exposure to pictures, videos or materials, which were sexual in nature, that the person did not wish to see

Sexual orientation

Sexual orientation is an umbrella concept that encapsulates:

  • sexual identity (how a person thinks of their sexuality and the terms they identify with)
  • attraction (romantic or sexual interest in another person)
  • behaviour (sexual behaviour)

Responses to a sexual orientation question are a subjective view of oneself and can change over the course of a person's lifetime and in different contexts. An individual could respond differently to questions on either sexual identity, attraction or behaviour.

Unwanted touching, grabbing, kissing or fondling

Includes:

  • Momentary or brief touching or contact, for example groping or brushing against a breast or bottom

Excludes:

  • Incidents of a sexual nature which were longer than momentary (these are defined and recorded as sexual assault)

Work/professional relationship

Includes employer/manager/supervisor, co-worker, and client/patient/customer.

Data downloads

Sexual harassment (Tables 1 to 8)

National sexual harassment prevalence, times series, socio-demographic characteristics for men and women.

Characteristics of incidents in the last 12 months, including behaviours, relationship to perpetrator and location.

Data files
Download xlsx [140.38 KB]

Methodology

Personal Safety, Australia methodology, 2021-22 financial year

Media releases