BACKGROUND: Many people experience forms of gender-based violence and harassment (GBVH) in the context of their work. This includes a wide range of experiences, from subtle expressions of hostility to physical assault, that can also be of a sexual nature (e.g., sexual harassment or assault). This systematic review aimed to summarize findings about the prospective associations of work-related GBVH with people\'s health and occupational situation.
METHODS: We followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. Scopus, Web of Science, MEDLINE and PsycINFO were searched for prospective studies in English from 1990 to May 24, 2023. Studies were included if they concerned a working population, exposure to any form of GBVH in the work context, and a health outcome or manifest occupational outcome. Quality was assessed with a modified version of the Cochrane \'Tool to Assess Risk of Bias in Cohort Studies\', and studies assessed as low quality were excluded from the narrative synthesis. For the narrative synthesis, we grouped the results by similar exposures and outcomes and reported the strength and statistical significance of the associations.
RESULTS: Of the 1 937 screened records, 29 studies were included in the narrative synthesis. Studies were mainly conducted in the USA and northern Europe and investigated exposure to sexual violence or harassment (SVH). Only two included studies investigated non-sexual kinds of GBVH. Consistently, studies showed associations of work-related SVH with poor mental health and there were indications of an association with hazardous substance use. There was no consistent evidence for an association of SVH with subsequent sickness absence, and there were too few studies concerning physical health and occupational outcomes to synthesize the results.
CONCLUSIONS: There is consistent evidence of work-related SVH as a risk factor for subsequent poor mental health. There is no indication that the health consequences of SVH differ between women and men, although women are more often affected. There is a need for conceptual consistency, the consideration of non-sexual behaviors and prospective studies that test clear hypotheses about the temporal sequence of events.

BACKGROUND: In a working environment that is predominantly male, very tough physically, with a difficult working environment, occupational exposures and working, verbal and physical aggression can be more frequent than in other sectors. Fishing, merchant shipping and yachting are all sectors where fitness to sail is reassessed every year by doctors in the Seafarers\' Health Service. Seafarers are increasingly reporting insulting, violent or sexist behaviour. The main types of abuse seen on board can be verbal and/or physical aggression, humiliation, whether in private or in front of others. Sexual harassment of women is a very worrying subject.
METHODS: It was a retrospective observational study which is part of the professional monitoring of seafarers. The target population was adult seafarers coming for a fitness to sail visit. The group was recruited from seafarers aged over 18 who were being monitored by one of the seafarers\' health services (or local centres). The inclusion period was 4 months between January and April 2023. All the information was collected using a self-questionnaire developed from the questionnaires of the Surveillance Médicale des Expositions des Salariés au Risques Professionnels (SUMER) for health status, job satisfaction and the European mini-module, verbal and physical aggression and psychological violence at work (based on the Leymann questionnaire), sexual violence and aggression based on the sexual harassment questionnaire and the PCLS-5 scale validated and translated into French to assess post-traumatic stress. The population studied was therefore 788 sailors.
RESULTS: The study population was predominantly male (82.3%). The average age was 41.4 years (standard deviation = 11.7). 46.7% of seafarers estimate being in very good health. During the past 12 months, overall, 24.5% of seafarers disclaimed having been victim in work-related context of a verbal aggression, with a significant difference according to the gender (21.1% for men and 41.0% for women). During the last 12 months, overall, 3.2% of seafarers have been victim in work-related context of a physical aggression (2.6% for men and 5.8% for women, NS), whereas 10.9% of seafarers reported hostile behaviour at present. Twenty per cent of seafarers reported sexual harassment in the last 12 months. During the entire working life of seafarers, 65.5% of women and 38.2% of men reported sexual harassment, and 38.8% of seafarers stated that they had experienced at least one traumatic event in the last 12 months.
CONCLUSIONS: A quarter of seafarers say they have been the victim of verbal or physical aggression at work in the last twelve months. These figures are high, and higher than those of the global survey on violence and harassment at work carried out by the International Labour Organization. One of the most alarming results of our study is the overexposure of women working in the maritime industry to the risk of physical, verbal or sexual assault of any kind. Indeed, in all the questions concerning the experience of verbal and physical aggression, the number of women victims is twice as high as that of their male colleagues, and this difference is statistically significant. As far as prevention is concerned, it seems that an effort is needed in terms of information, since only one seafarer in two knows the procedure to follow in the event of aggression within their shipyard. Communication between shipowners and seafarers needs to be stepped up to ensure that everyone is familiar with the procedures.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the gender-specific impact of recent exposure to different forms of sexual harassment and sexual violence (SHV) on depression and anxiety symptoms three, six, and nine months later.
METHODS: We recruited 2229 women and 1274 men studying at Swedish universities and followed them with web-surveys every three months over one year. We estimated mean differences (MDs) of depression and anxiety symptoms between exposed and unexposed at each follow-up, adjusting for prior SHV, prior depression and anxiety symptoms and potential confounders.
RESULTS: For women, sexual harassment (wide subjective definition) was associated with higher symptom levels of depression (MD 1.0 [95% CI: 0.3; 1.7]) and anxiety (MD 0.8 [95% CI: 0.3; 1.4]) three months later. Unwanted sexual attention was associated with higher symptom levels of anxiety three (MD 0.5 [95% CI: 0.1; 0.8]) and six months later (MD 0.4 [95% CI: 0.0; 0.7]). Exposure to sex against ones will was associated with higher depression symptoms three (MD 1.7 [95% CI: 0.1;3.4]), and six months later (MD 3.1 [95% CI: 1.0; 5.2]). Trends indicated that associations with subsequent mental health differed between forms of SHV among women, and that most associations were more pronounced in temporal proximity to the exposures. For men, we refrain from interpreting the results since they showed high variability and were not robust to sensitivity analyses using multiple imputation to account for missing outcome data.
CONCLUSIONS: Among women, several forms of SHV were associated with higher subsequent depression and anxiety symptoms.

This study examines how cybercrimes impact women\'s well-being in digital spaces, focusing on online harassment, cyberbullying, misinformation, and non-consensual exposure to explicit content. Survey data from 200 respondents show concerning trends: 102 experienced online harassment, 63 encountered false health information, 47 were approached to sexting, and 28 were exposed to pornography without consent. Qualitative insights highlight emotional distress. Urgent actions include awareness-raising, education, and tailored support networks. These findings underscore the need to combat cybercrimes and empower women online.
Cette étude examine comment les cybercrimes affectent le bien-être des femmes dans les espaces numériques, en se concentrant sur le harcèlement en ligne, la cyberintimidation, la désinformation et l\'exposition non consentie à du contenu explicite. Les données d\'une enquête auprès de 200 répondants montrent des tendances préoccupantes: 102 ont subi du harcèlement en ligne, 63 ont rencontré de fausses informations sur la santé, 47 ont été sollicitées pour du sexting et 28 ont été exposées à de la pornographie sans consentement. Les perspectives qualitatives soulignent la détresse émotionnelle. Des actions urgentes incluent la sensibilisation, l\'éducation et des réseaux de soutien adaptés. Ces résultats soulignent la nécessité de lutter contre les cybercrimes et d\'autonomiser les femmes en ligne.

UNASSIGNED: Sexual harassment is a significant problem in workplaces all over the world. Women\'s reactions to sexual harassment are influenced by various factors. The aim of the current study was to investigate how women respond sexual harassment in the retail clothing industry.
UNASSIGNED: In-depth face-to-face interviews were conducted with 16 women aged 23-44 years (mean 29.18 years) employed for at least 3 years in clothes shops in Shiraz, Iran. A grounded theory approach was used to analysis the data and raise hypotheses.
UNASSIGNED: The main perpetrators of sexual harassment for female saleswomen were male customers. The women experienced conflict-induced stimulation (core phenomenon) when they were faced with sexual harassing behaviors (causal conditions). Such stimulation prompted three types of coping strategies: silence, avoidance, or confrontation. Intervening factors like the characteristics of the Iranian society (including family mores, state-imposed hijab regulations, patriarchal culture, educational system, and regulatory monitoring) and contextual factors (including individual and environmental factors and particularly employer expectations) were found to influence the selection of strategies used as well as their potential consequences in challenging situations.
UNASSIGNED: The current study used a grounded theory approach to produce an explanatory storyline that can be tested. Sexual harassment induces conflict-induced stimulation and responses are influenced by intervening conditions, contextual factors, selected strategies, and the perceived consequences of the response. The findings of the grounded theory study suggest that there are negative consequences, particularly in terms of lack of employer support and losing one\'s job, shame, and family disapproval which act as barriers for female saleswomen to counteracting sexual harassment from male customers. Such an understanding can also be applied to develop educational policies to support women as well as ameliorate the prevalence of this essentially illegal problem.

The situational model of bystander behavior is a validated 5-step process for understanding intervention in bullying and sexual harassment, yet the individual-level and contextual-level factors that facilitate the progression from one step to the next are not well understood. The purpose of the current study was to examine whether individual characteristics (social-emotional skills, affective empathy, cognitive empathy, and personal attitudes toward bullying and sexual harassment) and contextual-level factors (school climate and perceived peer attitudes toward bullying and sexual harassment) explained the association between subsequent steps of the bystander intervention model. A sample of 788 high school students completed several validated measures of these constructs. Structural equation modeling analysis revealed that each step significantly and positively predicted the next step, and the addition of a direct path from accepting responsibility to helping improved model fit. The mediational model indicated that individual-level characteristics had significant direct effects on interpreting bullying and sexual harassment as problems, accepting responsibility, and helping, and indirect effects from noticing the bullying and sexual harassment to all subsequent steps except knowing. In contrast, contextual-level effects contributed to accepting responsibility in an inverse direction.

OBJECTIVE: Exposure to work-related sexual harassment may increase the risk for certain adverse behavioural and emotional outcomes but less is known about its association with somatic diseases such as cardiovascular disease (CVD) and type 2 diabetes. This study investigated the prospective association of work-related sexual harassment and risk of cardiometabolic diseases.
RESULTS: This cohort study included 88 904 Swedish men and women in paid work who responded to questions on workplace sexual harassment in the Swedish Work Environment Survey (1995-2015) and were free from cardiometabolic diseases at baseline. Cardiometabolic diseases (CVD and type 2 diabetes) were identified from the National Patient Register and Causes of Death Register through linkage. Cox proportional hazard regression was used, adjusting for socio-demographic, work-related psychosocial, and physical exposure at baseline. Overall, 4.8% of the participants (n = 4300) reported exposure to workplace sexual harassment during the previous 12 months. After adjustment for sex, birth country, family situation, education, income, and work-related factors, workplace sexual harassment was associated with increased incidence of CVD [hazard ratio (HR) 1.25, 95% confidence interval 1.03-1.51] and type 2 diabetes (1.45, 1.21-1.73). The HR for CVD (1.57, 1.15-2.15) and type 2 diabetes (1.85, 1.39-2.46) was increased for sexual harassment from superior or fellow workers, and sexual harassment from others was associated with type 2 diabetes (1.39, 1.13-1.70). The HR for both CVD (1.31, 0.95-1.81) and type 2 diabetes (1.72, 1.30-2.28) was increased for frequent exposure.
CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study support the hypothesis that workplace sexual harassment is prospectively associated with cardiometabolic diseases. Future research is warranted to understand causality and mechanisms behind these associations.
We investigated if workers in Sweden who had experienced sexual harassment at work had a higher risk of developing cardiovascular disease and diabetes than workers who had not experienced sexual harassment at work. The experience of workplace sexual harassment was associated with an increased risk of both cardiovascular disease and diabetes. The risk was highest among those workers who had frequently experienced sexual harassment. Our results suggest that preventive measures directed towards elimination of sexual harassment may contribute to a reduction in cardiovascular disease and diabetes in the population.

Sexual victimization is a serious public health crisis affecting college students, with high rates reported among both women and men. Sexual consent education is crucial as it defines sexual assault and is linked to reduced risk of victimization. Rape myths and stereotyped beliefs shifting blame to survivors are established risk factors for sexual violence. Comprehensive sexual education can mitigate these attitudes, fostering a supportive environment for survivors. However, most high school students in the United States receive abstinence-based or abstinence-plus education, which uses unstandardized protocols and often lacks information about sexual consent. The following study explores the influence of high school sexual education on past sexual victimization and rape myth acceptance in college students. Six hundred sixty-four undergraduate students participated in an online survey through a university participant pool. Results show that those who received comprehensive sexual education were more likely to understand sexual consent and were less likely to endorse past sexual victimization. In contrast, students without comprehensive sexual education reported lower satisfaction with their sexual education and greater acceptance of rape myths. Despite limitations in the study\'s sample and reliance on self-reporting, this research highlights the importance of implementing comprehensive sexual education, including consent education, in high schools. Policymakers and educators must recognize the influence of comprehensive sexual education in promoting healthy relationships and combating sexual assault. As a significant public health concern, incorporating standardized sexual consent education into high school curricula can equip students with the knowledge and skills to make informed decisions about their sexual health and relationships. Future research should explore diverse populations and the mediating role of related factors that may further influence these relationships. These efforts will contribute to fostering a safer environment within educational institutions and combating sexual assault.

BACKGROUND: Unprofessional behaviours between healthcare workers are highly prevalent. Evaluations of large-scale culture change programs are rare resulting in limited evidence of intervention effectiveness. We conducted a multi-method evaluation of a professional accountability and culture change program \"Ethos\" implemented across eight Australian hospitals. The Ethos program incorporates training for staff in speaking-up; an online system for reporting co-worker behaviours; and a tiered accountability pathway, including peer-messengers who deliver feedback to staff for \'reflection\' or \'recognition\'. Here we report the final evaluation component which aimed to measure changes in the prevalence of unprofessional behaviours before and after Ethos.
METHODS: A survey of staff (clinical and non-clinical) experiences of 26 unprofessional behaviours across five hospitals at baseline before (2018) and 2.5-3 years after (2021/2022) Ethos implementation. Five of the 26 behaviours were classified as \'extreme\' (e.g., assault) and 21 as incivility/bullying (e.g., being spoken to rudely). Our analysis assessed changes in four dimensions: work-related bullying; person-related bullying; physical bullying and sexual harassment. Change in experience of incivility/bullying was compared using multivariable ordinal logistic regression. Change in extreme behaviours was assessed using multivariable binary logistic regression. All models were adjusted for respondent characteristics.
RESULTS: In total, 3975 surveys were completed. Staff reporting frequent incivility/bullying significantly declined from 41.7% (n = 1064; 95% CI 39.7,43.9) at baseline to 35.5% (n = 505; 95% CI 32.8,38.3; χ2(1) = 14.3; P < 0.001) post-Ethos. The odds of experiencing incivility/bullying declined by 24% (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 0.76; 95% CI 0.66,0.87; P < 0.001) and odds of experiencing extreme behaviours by 32% (aOR 0.68; 95% CI 0.54,0.85; P < 0.001) following Ethos. All four dimensions showed a reduction of 32-41% in prevalence post-Ethos. Non-clinical staff reported the greatest decrease in their experience of unprofessional behaviour (aOR 0.41; 95% CI 0.29, 0.61). Staff attitudes and reported skills to speak-up were significantly more positive at follow-up. Awareness of the program was high (82.1%; 95% CI 80.0, 84.0%); 33% of respondents had sent or received an Ethos message.
CONCLUSIONS: The Ethos program was associated with significant reductions in the prevalence of reported unprofessional behaviours and improved capacity of hospital staff to speak-up. These results add to evidence that staff will actively engage with a system that supports informal feedback to co-workers about their behaviours and is facilitated by trained peer messengers.

Despite a surge of attention to gender-based violence (GBV), research about the night-time economy (NTE) as a site of gendered violence is limited. Even less research examines women\'s emotional responses to \"unwanted sexual intrusions\" (USI) in the NTE. Analyzing women\'s emotional responses can generate deeper understanding of social phenomena, power and its operation, and is in keeping with feminist theorizing that uses a victim-survivor-centered approach. Analysis of qualitative data, from a survey we conducted in the United Kingdom, reveals women experience USI in the NTE as a frightening, shameful injustice. The article discusses these emotions in light of the changing \"emotional climate\" about GBV.