Massachusetts

Poll: 1 in 5 Massachusetts Voters Say They Have Been Sexually Harassed at Work

Since the #MeToo movement took off, sexual harassment has been widely reported not only in Hollywood but in the world of politics and in the everyday workplace.

According to a new WBUR poll, one in five Massachusetts voters have reported receiving an "unwanted sexual advance or other verbal or physical harassment of a sexual nature at work."

Thursday's poll reported a much higher number among women who responded to the poll — with 33 percent of female voters saying they've been sexually harassed. Among women under 50, that number rose to 37 percent.

MassInc Polling, which conducted the survey for WBUR, said younger women may report sexual harassment more because they may define it more broadly than older women.

The poll also asked respondents if recent revelations about sexual harassment have caused them to treat their colleagues differently, or to rethink how they behaved in the past.

Thirteen percent of respondents age 30 to 44 said recent revelations made them rethink their current behavior toward colleagues, while only 6 percent of those voters over 60 said it did, according to the WBUR poll.

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