A staggering 94 percent of women who work in the entertainment industry say they have experienced some sort of sexual harassment during their career, according to a USA Today poll.
Put another way, more than 790 of the 843 female actors, directors, writers, producers, editors surveyed by USA Today say they suffered some form of harassment or assault at the hands of a man with power.
Further, 21 percent say they were forced to do something sexual, according to USA Today's poll.
A sampling of the types of harassment or assault the women experienced at least once in their Hollywood career, according to USA Today's survey:
- 87 percent: Unwelcome comments, jokes or gestures.
- 69 percent: Being touched in a sexual way.
- 64 percent: Being propositioned for a sexual act or relationship.
- 29 percent: Had someone expose himself.
- 10 percent: Ordered unexpectedly to audition naked.
Just one in four of the women surveyed said they reported the misconduct, and of those, just 28 percent say their situation improved afterward, USA Today reported.
"The percentages are higher than what we typically see for workplace abuses, but we know there is variation by the type of workplace," Anita Raj, director of the Center for Gender Equity and Health at the University of California-San Diego, told USA Today about its poll.
"But it makes sense to me that we would see higher numbers (in the entertainment industry)," where the "casting couch" has prevailed for decades and is considered "normal," Raj said.
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