Reports of harassment soared by 115% last year, although the surge indicates a greater awareness of discrimination rather than an actual increase in the amount of incidents.
The Institute for Equality between Women and Men (IEFH) received 118 reports of harassment in 2023 compared to 55 the previous year. Meanwhile, sexual harassment reports more than doubled, rising by 105%.
The rise follows several years of "relative" stability in figures, the organisation's annual report explained. The increase "indicates that society as a whole is gradually becoming aware of the unacceptability of intimidation and sexual harassment," said Deputy Director Liesbet Stevens, adding that IEFH's improved visibility has also contributed to the rise in reports.
"These two factors have undoubtedly played a role in the significant increase in the number of reports of this type of incident."
Workplace the worst
The report shows that most individuals reporting harassment are women (43%), the same as in previous years, while 34% were men and 20% were "moral individuals" – companies or organisations making a complaint.
In addition, the majority of reported incidents occurred in the workplace (32%). The IEDH defines workplace harassment as harassment based on gender, maternity, gender identity or gender expression, and can occur directly (hate speech, for instance) or indirectly (such as missing out on a promotion due to prejudice).
Incidents suffered by women made up over half of reports while 25% of complainants were men. One-third of work-related incidents concerned "maternity in the broad sense," the report states.
"Despite some progress, the workplace remains fundamentally unequal, to the disadvantage of women and gender minorities," said Stevens. "Women are more likely to be discriminated against and treated unequally because of pregnancy, motherhood or assisted reproduction. But men also report discrimination to the Institute based on their family responsibilities."
Why report it?
Reporting discriminatory behaviour may lead to legal action. The IEDH highlights clauses in the 2007 Gender Act which "provide for civil penalties, including a system of lump-sum compensation in the event of discrimination."
The IEDH may also pursue reports based on a 2020 law which prohibits taking images and videos of sexual acts without consent. The law criminalises the non-consensual dissemination of intimate recordings.
Credit: Belga
However, in this case, there must be proof of intended discrimination.
For breaches of the Gender Act, "it is sufficient to show that a person has been treated less favourably because of their sex or gender than another person in a similar situation. What counts is the unequal treatment, not the intention to discriminate."
