SEXUAL VIOLENCE & THE WORKPLACE

Overview

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Sexual violence is a societal issue that requires systemic change.
Sexual violence does not occur in a vacuum. It is influenced by our
larger social systems, including the workplace. In a typical week in
the United States, the average worker spends approximately 55 hours,
or about 33% of their time participating in work-related activities (U.S.
Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2010, p. 2). Therefore,
the work environment plays a significant role in the health and
well-being of employees.

A healthy workplace can foster social, economic, and professional
growth and opportunities for employees. This overview provides
advocates and their allied partners with information from available
research on the connections between sexual violence and the
workplace. It is intended to provide a snapshot of the issue of sexual
violence and the workplace and how sexual violence impacts a survivor’s(1)
employment. Sexual violence crosses all socioeconomic lines. However,
various oppressions such as racism, sexism, classism, heterosexism, 
ableism, and ageism can create barriers that might be exploited by people
who commit sexual violence. For example, traditionally oppressed
groups, such as undocumented and documented immigrants (Southern
Poverty Law Center, 2010), people working in the restaurant and
service industry (The Restaurant Opportunities Center United et el., 2012)
and people living in poverty are at an increased risk for sexual
victimization in schools, at home, and in the workplace (Jewkes, Sen,
& Garcia-Moreno, 2002). Not everyone who has experienced sexual violence
is affected in the same way; however, sexual violence can have profound
effects on a person’s employment regardless of when or where the
incident occurred. Sexual violence does not have to occur at the
workplace or be perpetrated by a coworker to impact the survivor’s
employment. When sexual violence occurs in the workplace, employees
can feel threatened, harassed, and unsafe. Absenteeism, interrupted
job performance, and loss of experienced employees are only some of the
costs that employers bear as a direct result of sexual violence.

(1)Throughout this document, the terms “victim” and “survivor” are used 
interchangeably to be inclusive of the various ways people who have
experienced sexual violence may identify.

NSVRC • 123 North Enola Drive, Enola, PA 17025 • Toll free: 877-739-3895 • www.nsvrc.org • resources@nsvrc.org


Sexual violence & the workplace research statistics
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The connections between sexual violence and the workplace are understudied.
However, existing research can help inform advocacy and prevention efforts.
While working or on duty, American employees experienced 36,500 rapes and sexual
assaults from 1993 to 1999 (Duhart, 2001). Women are the victims in 80% of rapes
and sexual assaults that take place in the workplace (Duhart, 2001). Between 2005
and 2009, rape/sexual assault accounted for 2.3% of all nonfatal violence
in the workplace (Harrell, 2011). One study of employed women found that 38% had
experienced sexual harassment in the workplace (Potter & Banyard, 2011).
Sexual harassment in the workplace also is a serious concern for people receiving
public assistance. Research shows that individuals who move from public assistance
into unsubsidized employment often experience sexual harassment in the workplace.
One study found that between 8% and 13% of individuals returning to public
assistance have reported experiencing sexual harassment at work (Siegel & Abbott, 2007).
In traditionally male-dominated professions, such as in the military, women could
experience more sexual harassment and violence. In fiscal year 2010, 3,158 military
sexual assaults were reported; about a quarter of those occurred during deployment 
in a combat zone (U.S. Department of Defense, Sexual Assault Prevention and Response
[SAPRO] 2011). The DOD however, estimates that only about 13.5% of survivors
report an assault (SAPRO, 2011). For more information on sexual violence in the military
see the Special collection: Sexual violence in the military (National Sexual Violence Resource
Center [NSVRC], 2011).


The impact of sexual violence
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Interrupted work as a result of sexual violence

Sexual violence can cause interruptions in a person’s life. It is estimated that Post Traumatic
Stress Disorder (PTSD) is likely in 50% to 95% of rape cases (Heise, Ellsberg, & Gottemoeller
1999). In one study, 50% of rape victims lost or were forced to quit their jobs in the year
following their rapes because of the severity of their reactions (Ellis, Atkeson, & Calhoun, 1981).
The National Violence Against Women Survey found that more than 19% of adult female rape
survivors and more than 9% of adult male rape survivors said their victimizations caused them
to lose time from work (Tjaden & Thoennes, 2006). More than 21% of women who were
raped by an intimate partner lost time from paid work, with eight days as the average
number of days lost (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention [CDC], 2003). Sexual violence that has occurred in the past also can affect
current employment; one study found that childhood sexual abuse can often result in
difficulties in the workplace in adulthood, leading to poor job performance and high
work absenteeism (Anda et al., 2004).

Financial losses associated with sexual violence

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Sexual violence creates a significant financial burden on health care, criminal justice,
education, child welfare and other systems. In 2008, total victimization costs of each rape
were about $151,423 (DeLisi et al., 2010). Lifetime income loss due to sexual violence in
adolescence has been estimated to be $241,600 (MacMillan, 2000). A 2009 study of the cost of
sexual violence in Iowa estimated the cost of lost work due to sexual violence to be at more
than $130 million (Yang, Zhang, Miller, & LeHew, 2012). Sexual assault victims lose approximately
$2,200 due to decreased productivity and lost wages in the aftermath of sexual violence (Mac-
Millan, 2000). In a 1994 study, the cost of sexual harassment in the federal government was an
estimated $327 million; this includes the cost of job turnover ($24.7 million), sick leave taken
because of the harassment ($14.9 million), and productivity losses ($287.5 million) (U.S. Merit
Systems Protection Board, 1995).
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This overview is part of a Sexual Violence & the Workplace Information Packet. Contact
the National Sexual Violence Resource Center or http://www.nsvrc.org.
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References
Anda, R. F., Fleisher, V. I., Felitti, V. J., Edwards, V. J., Whitfield, C. L., Dube, S. R.,
& Williamson, D. F. (2004). Childhood abuse, household dysfunction, and
indicators of impaired worker performance in adulthood. The Permanente
Journal, 8(1), 30-38. Retrieved from http://xnet.kp.org/permanentejournal/
winter04/childhood.pdf

Black, M. C., Basile, K. C., Breiding, M. J., Smith, S. G., Walters, M. L., Merrick, M.
T., ... Stevens, M. R. (2011). National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence
Survey: 2010 summary report. Retrieved from the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control:
http://www.cdc.gov/ViolencePrevention/pdf/NISVS_Report2010-a.pdf

DeLisi, M., Kosloski, A., Sween, M., Hachmeister, E., Moore, M., & Drury, A.
(2010). Murder by numbers: Monetary costs imposed by a sample of
homicide offenders. The Journal of Forensic Psychiatry & Psychology, 21,
501-513. doi:10.1080/14789940903564388

Duhart, D. T. (2001) National Crime Victimization Survey: Violence in the
workplace 1993—99 (NCJ 190076). Retrieved from the U.S. Department of
Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics: http://bjs.
ojp.usdoj.gov/content/pub/pdf/vw99.pdf

Ellis, E. M., Atkeson, B. M., & Calhoun, K. S. (1981). An assessment of
long-term reaction to rape. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 90,
263-266. doi:10.1037/0021-843X.90.3.263

Harrell, E. (2011). Workplace violence, 1993-2009: National Crime Victimization
Survey and the census of fatal occupational injuries (NCJ 233231). Retrieved
from the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of
Justice Statistics: http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/content/pub/pdf/wv09.pdf

Heise, L., Ellsberg, M., & Gottemoeller, M. (1999). Population reports: Ending
violence against women. Issues in World Health, Series L(11). Retrieved
from VAWnet: National Online Resource Center on Violence Against
Women: http://www.vawnet.org/Assoc_Files_VAWnet/PopulationReports.pdf

Jewkes, R., Sen, P., & Garcia-Moreno, C. (2002). Sexual violence. In E. G. Krig, 
L. L. Dahlberg, J. A. Mercy, A. B. Zwi, & R. Lozano (Eds.), World report on violence
and health (pp. 147-181). Retrieved from the World Health Organization: 
http://www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/violence/world_report/en/full_en.pdf

MacMillan, R. (2000). Adolescent victimization and income deficits in adulthood: 
Rethinking the costs of criminal violence from a life-course perspective. Criminology,
38, 553-588. doi:10.1111/j.1745-9125.2000.tb00899.x

National Sexual Violence Resource Center. (2011). Special collection: 
Sexual violence in the military. Retrieved from VAWnet: National Online Resource
Center on Violence Against Women: http://www.vawnet.org/specialcollections/SVMilitary.php

Potter, S. J., & Banyard, V. L. (2011). The victimization experiences of women in the workforce:
Moving beyond single categories of work or violence. Violence and Victims, 
26, 513-532. doi:10.1891/0886-6708.26.4.513

Siegel, D. I., & Abbott, A. A. (2007). The work lives of the low-income welfare poor. Families in
Society, 88, 401-412. doi:10.1606/1044-3894.3649

Southern Poverty Law Center. (2010). Injustice on our plates: Immigrant women in the U.S. food industry.
Retrieved from http://www.splcenter.org/sites/default/files/downloads/publication/Injustice_on_Our_Plates.pdf

The Restaurant Opportunities Center United, Family Values @ Work, HERvotes Coalition, Institute for Women’s 
Policy Research, MOMSRISING, National Coalition On Black Civic Participation’s Black Women’s Roundtable…9to5, 
National Association of Working Women. (2012). Tipped over the edge: Gender inequity in the restaurant industry. 
Retrieved from http://rocunited.org/files/2012/02/ROC_GenderInequity_F1-1.pdf

Tjaden, P., & Thoennes, N. (2006). Extent, nature, and consequence of rape victimization: Findings from the National
Violence Against Women Survey (NCJ 210346). Retrieved from https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/210346.pdf

U. S. Department of Defense, Sexual Assault Prevention and Response. (2011). Department of Defense annual report of 
sexual assault in the military: Fiscal year 2010. 
Retrieved from http://www.sapr.mil/media/pdf/reports/DoD_Fiscal_Year_2010_Annual_Report_on_Sexual_Assault_in_the_Military.pdf

U. S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2003). Costs of intimate partner 
violence against women in the United States. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/IPVBook-a.pdf

U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2010). American Time Use Survey: Table A-1. Retrieved from 
http://www.bls.gov/tus/tables/a1_2010.pdf

U. S. Merit Systems Protection Board. (1995). Sexual harassment in the federal workplace: Trends, progress, continuing challenges.
Retrieved from http://www.mspb.gov/netsearch/viewdocs.aspx?docnumber=253661&version=253948

Yang, J., Zhang, N., Miller, T. R., & LeHew, B. (2012). Costs of sexual violence in Iowa (2009). Retrieved from the University of 
Iowa College of Public Health: http://www.public-health.uiowa.edu/iprc/resources/Cost-Sexual-Violence-Iowa-FINAL.pdf


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© National Sexual Violence Resource Center 2013. All rights reserved. 
This document was supported by Cooperative Agreement #1H28CE002205-01 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the CDC.