The study found significant regional disparities, with the prevalence of sexual harassment being highest in Africa at 33 percent, followed by the Arab region at 31 percent. Southeast Asia recorded 19 percent, while Ukraine, which was included in such a study for the first time, recorded 12 percent.
It also includes countries that have not been previously studied, such as Bangladesh, Sierra Leone, Ethiopia, Somalia and South Sudan, strengthening the global evidence on sexual harassment in media workplaces.
According to the Bangladesh survey of 339 respondents, 17 percent of media professionals experienced sexual harassment at the workplace, slightly lower than the Asian regional average of 19 percent.
The Bangladesh survey found that female journalists and media professionals were almost six times more likely to face sexual harassment than their male colleagues.
Nearly 60 percent of female respondents reported verbal sexual harassment, while 9 percent of men reported verbal sexual harassment, while 48 percent experienced work-related online sexual harassment, compared to 15 percent of male respondents.
The study further found that 24 percent of women experienced physical sexual harassment, while 4 percent of men also faced it.