Indicator 11.7.2 - Proportion of persons victim of physical or sexual harassment, by sex, age, disability status and place of occurrence, in the previous 12 months - Indicators For The Sustainable Development Goals

This table provides information on metadata for SDG indicators as defined by the UN Statistical Commission. Complete global metadata is provided by the UN Statistics Division.

Indicator

Indicator 11.7.2: Proportion of persons victim of non-sexual or sexual harassment, by sex, age, disability status and place of occurrence, in the previous 12 months^[1]

Refinement of the indicator name approved by the IAEG-SDGs in its November 2023 meeting and pending final approval by the 55th session of the Statistical Commission in March 2024. ↑

Target

Target 11.7: By 2030, provide universal access to safe, inclusive and accessible, green and public spaces, in particular for women and children, older persons and persons with disabilities

Organisation

United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)

Definition and concepts

Definition:

Number of persons who have been victims of non-sexual harassment or sexual harassment, as a percentage of the total population of the relevant area.

Concepts:

The operational definitions of non-sexual and sexual harassment are based on the International Classification of Crime for Statistical Purposes (ICCS). While sexual harassment refers to a non-physical behaviour with a sexual connotation that is suitable to intimidate the victim, non-sexual harassment refers to all other non-sexual harassing behaviours that can cause fear for physical integrity and/or emotional distress. This type of non-sexual harassment formulated by the indicator overlaps to some extent with psychological violence.

The internationally standardized and tested SDG 16 Survey questionnaire and the accompanying Implementation Manual, which can be used by countries for collecting data SDG indicator 11.7.2 on non-sexual and sexual harassment, provide a core set of questions about specific behaviours that allow for the measurement of the prevalence of sexual and non-sexual harassment in the population (see Figures 1 and 2 below). In addition, the regionally standardized and tested methodology, the Latin America and the Caribbean Crime Victimization Survey Initiative (LACSI), offers a standardised methodology the measurement of indicator 11.7.2 and uses the same types of behaviours, both for non-sexual harassment and sexual harassment, but considering one additional behaviour indicative of sexual harassment: Somebody followed you and made you feel uncomfortable with sexual intentions.

While the precise formulation and wording of the pertinent survey questions may need national customization, a core set of behaviours have been identified as forms of sexual and non-sexual harassment exercised towards a person:

Figure 1: Types of non-sexual harassment included in the SDG 16 survey questionnaire

A.	Received non-sexual threatening or offensive MESSAGES, E-MAILS OR CALLS
B.	Somebody personally made OFFENSIVE, THREATENING OR HUMILIATING COMMENTS to you, such as insulting you or calling you names
C.	Somebody made OFFENSIVE OR THREATENING GESTURES to demean, insult or humiliate you
D.	Somebody posted OFFENSIVE, demeaning OR EMBARASSING COMMENTS, PHOTOS OR VIDEOS OF YOU ONLINE
E.	Somebody FOLLOWED YOU AGAINST YOUR WILL, EITHER PHYSICALLY OR ONLINE in a way that made you feel uncomfortable

Source: SDG 16 Survey questionnaire

Figure 2: Types of sexual harassment included in the SDG 16 survey questionnaire

A.	UNWANTED SEXUAL PROPOSITION or pressure for a date
B.	Unwanted MESSAGES, E-MAILS, CALLS OF A SEXUAL NATURE that offended you
C.	Embarrassing and SEXUALLY EXPLICIT MESSAGES about you and/or PHOTOS OR VIDEOS OF YOU POSTED ONLINE OR SENT TO ANYONE WITHOUT YOUR CONSENT
D.	UNWANTED SEXUAL COMMENTS ABOUT YOUR PHYSICAL APPEARANCE OR BODY
E.	UNWANTED SEXUAL GESTURES, WHISTLING AND LEERING OR ANYONE GOT INAPPROPRIATELY CLOSE TO YOU
G.	Somebody INDECENTLY EXPOSED THEMSELVES TO YOU
H.	Receiving UNWANTED GIFTS of a sexual nature such as toys, accessories or underwear

Source: SDG 16 Survey questionnaire. Note: In relation to item E. "inappropriately close" means that the perpetrator is at a distance where he/she can touch the victim, but where physical contact does not take place.

The SDG 16 survey instrument, developed by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), is designed as a flexible tool that can be adapted to national needs. It can either be applied as a standalone population survey or, if necessary, countries can implement selected modules as part of other ongoing survey operations.

The LACSI survey instrument, developed by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) with the support of the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB), Organization of American States (OAS) and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), is designed as an independent crime victimization survey that can be adapted to the national needs and covers a wide range of criminal behaviors, including sexual and non-sexual harassment.^[3]

Technical assistance for the implementation of LACSI methodology in the Latin America and the Caribbean region is provided by the UNODC-INEGI Center of Excellence in Statistical Information on Government, Crime, Victimization and Justice (CoE). For more information, visit: https://www.cdeunodc.inegi.org.mx/index.php/en/ ↑

Unit of measure

Percent (%)

Data sources

The indicator is based on a set of questions about experiences of 12 different forms of sexual and non-sexual harassment in the last 12 months to be included in a household survey. (see Section 4.c Method of computation). These questions can be part of an add-on module on sexual and non-sexual harassment, to be incorporated into other ongoing general population surveys (such as surveys on quality of life, public attitudes, or surveys on other topics) or be part of dedicated surveys on crime victimization.

Data should be collected as part of a nationally representative sample of the adult population residing in the country, irrespective of legal residence status. The sampling frame and sample design should ensure that results can be disaggregated at sub-national level. The sample size should be sufficiently large to capture relevant events and compute needed disaggregations.

Data providers

Data are collected through official nationally representative surveys. In most countries and most cases, such surveys are conducted by National Statistical Offices (NSOs). In some cases, other national institutions or other entities may conduct surveys on victimization which include harassment according to the same methodological standards.

Data are sent to UNODC by Member States, usually through national UN Survey of Crime Trends and Operations of Criminal Justice Systems (UN-CTS) Focal Points, which in most cases are national institutions responsible for data production in the area of crime and criminal justice (National Statistical Offices, Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Justice, etc.).

Comment and limitations

Like other experience-based indicators on victimization, the indicator reflects the experience from the perspective of the victim. As such, the response provided by the victims reflects their experience as well as their subjective feeling of victimization, irrespective of whether actual harm was intended or not. The subjective feeling of victimization is an important component of safety and security across space and time (for example, in cities or in the domestic sphere) and a higher prevalence of experienced non-sexual or sexual harassment indicates a negative environment that warrants appropriate responses and interventions.

Similar to other survey-based indicators, the scope of the indicator also relies on the design and sampling strategy of the survey. For example, most surveys set a lower age-limit for practical and ethical reasons (e.g. 18 years and older), which means that data are not representative for children (under 18 years).^{^[4]} Harassment specifically linked to disability requires relatively large sample sizes in order to obtain a sufficiently large number of disabled persons in the sample.

The same behaviour can have different meanings and therefore have a different impact across cultural contexts and population groups. For this reason, the selection of ‘harassment’ behaviours has been made also with the view of identifying situations of harassment that can be perceived as such across different social and cultural contexts.

⁴

Other age limits (e.g. 15+ years) may be applied if consistent with national practices. Some surveys are also specifically designed to cover the youth and adolescent population. For example the Social Cohesion Survey to Prevent Violence and Crime (ECOPRED) conducted by the National Statistics Office of Mexico (INEGI) targets youth 12 years and older. ↑

Method of computation

This is a survey-based indicator that measures individuals’ experience of any of a set of behaviours that are collectively referred to as non-sexual harassment and sexual harassment. Questions on non-sexual and sexual harassment are to be measured separately. The results can then be combined. Both numerator and denominator are measured through sample surveys of the general population. The computation of this indicator requires the inclusion of a short module in a representative population survey that asks a set of questions about each type of non-sexual and sexual harassment included in Figures 1 and 2 respectively .

Content of question	Instruction
Experience of sexual harassment in the past 12 months^[5], by type of harassment (see Figure 2 for the set of behaviors indicative of sexual harassment)	If no sexual harassment was experienced, skip to 4, otherwise go to 2.
Most recent type of sexual harassment experienced^[6]	Continue with 3.
Place of most recent sexual harassment, by type of location	Go to 4.
Experience of non-sexual harassment in the past 12 months, by type of harassment (see Figure 1 for the set of behaviors indicative of non-sexual harassment)	If no non-sexual harassment was experienced, skip to END, otherwise go to 5.
Most recent type of non-sexual harassment experienced	Continue with 6.
Place of most recent non-sexual harassment, by type of location	Go to END.

Based on the responses to questions, the following indicators can be computed:

Indicator 11.7.2a: Proportion of persons victim of non-sexual harassment, by sex, age, disability status and place of occurrence, in the previous 12 months:

This indicator in computed by taking the number of respondents who experienced at least one form of non-sexual harassment in the past 12 months and dividing by the total number of respondents. The result needs to be multiplied by 100.

$I n d i c a t o r 11.7.2 a = \frac{N u m b e r o f r e s p o n d e n t s w h o e x p e r i e n c e d a t l e a s t o n e f o r m o f n o n - s e x u a l h a r a s s m e n t i n t h e p a s t 12 m o n t h s}{T o t a l n u m b e r o f s u r v e y r e s p o n d e n t s} X 100$

Indicator 11.7.2b: Proportion of persons victim of sexual harassment, by sex, age, disability status and place of occurrence, in the previous 12 months

This indicator in computed by taking the number of respondents who experienced at least one form of sexual harassment and dividing by the total number of respondents. The result needs to be multiplied by 100.

$I n d i c a t o r 11.7.2 b : = \frac{N u m b e r o f r e s p o n d e n t s w h o e x p e r i e n c e d a t l e a s t o n e f o r m o f s e x u a l h a r a s s m e n t i n t h e p a s t 12 m o n t h s}{T o t a l n u m b e r o f s u r v e y r e s p o n d e n t s} X 100$

Indicator 11.7.2: Proportion of persons victim of non-sexual or sexual harassment, by sex, age, disability status and place of occurrence, in the previous 12 months

This indicator is computed by taking the number of respondents who experienced at least one form of non-sexual or sexual harassment and dividing by the total number of respondents. The result needs to be multiplied by 100.

$I n d i c a t o r 11.7.2 = \frac{N u m b e r o f r e s p o n d e n t s w h o e x p e r i e n c e d a t l e a s t o n e f o r m o f p h y s i c a l o r s e x u a l h a r a s s m e n t i n t h e p a s t 12 m o n t h s}{T o t a l n u m b e r o f s u r v e y r e s p o n d e n t s} X 100$

⁵

While not necessary for computing Indicator 11.7.2, it is recommended that the survey questionnaire first asks about experiences of harassment in the past 3 years (to reduce possible telescoping effects and capture relatively rare events). ↑

⁶

While not necessary for computing Indicator 11.7.2, it is recommended that the survey questionnaire also asks how many times in the past 12 month the respondent has experienced each type of harassment, to understand the seriousness and severity of the harassment. ↑

Metadata update

2024-01-31

International organisations(s) responsible for global monitoring

United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)

Related indicators

5.2.1: Proportion of ever-partnered women and girls aged 15 years and older subjected to physical, sexual or psychological violence by a current or former intimate partner in the previous 12 months, by form of violence and by age

5.2.2: Proportion of women and girls aged 15 years and older subjected to sexual violence by persons other than an intimate partner in the previous 12 months, by age and place of occurrence

16.1.3: Proportion of population subjected to (a) physical violence, (b) psychological violence and/or (c) sexual violence in the previous 12 months

16.2.3: Proportion of young women and men aged 18–29 years who experienced sexual violence by age 18

16.3.1: Proportion of victims of (a) physical, (b) psychological and/or (c) sexual violence in the previous 12 months who reported their victimization to competent authorities or other officially recognized conflict resolution mechanisms

UN designated tier

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Indicator 11.7.2 Proportion of persons victim of physical or sexual harassment, by sex, age, disability status and place of occurrence, in the previous 12 months