Seksuell trakassering i ulike deler av arbeidslivet i lys av #metoo

In the fall of 2017, #MeToo became a synonym for sexual harassment experienced in a job context, and the collective response from women in various occupational groups testified about sexual harassment as a widespread problem in Norwegian workplaces. This article discusses questions about how sexual harassment works in different contexts and why sexual harassment as a work environment problem apparently received little attention out in the workplaces before the #MeToo campaign. The empirical material is based on different surveys in the period 2016–2018 in four different industries and occupational groups: health and care, hotel and restaurant, performing and creative artists and doctors. The article shows how challenges related to sexual harassment in work vary for these groups, and how organizational and structural conditions affect vulnerability. There are high thresholds for reporting sexual harassment at work. Fear of consequences for further job and career opportunities, perceptions that experiences are not serious enough, or that sexual harassment is normal and something that must be accepted as part of the business or professional culture, are important reasons why this received little attention before #MeToo.