Significance of the #metoo movement for the prevention of sexual harassment as perceived by people entering the job market

Abstract

We acknowledge that sexual harassment is a dangerous phenomenon with social, organisational and individual consequences. As such, it requires a systematic, multistage preventive approach, which would reach further than just reducing the direct, individual consequences of it. The objective of this study was to assess the potential of social campaigns in preventing sexual harassment, based on the example of the international #metoo movement. The survey was conducted in a group of 122 students entering the job market (last year of master in management studies). We aimed to explore how this group perceives the effectiveness of the #metoo movement in preventing sexual harassment. Our findings show that #metoo may have had such preventive potential but it got 'diluted' due to various factors (e.g., cultural determinants and lack of systemic solutions). As a result, only part of this potential was actually exploited.