America's Sexual Harassment Problem Seems To Be Accelerating

A study from Tulane University's Newcomb Institute, published in the American Journal of Public Health, found the share of Americans reporting sexual harassment in the previous year rose from 10.7% in 2018 to 24.3% in 2024, with the odds of reporting nearly tripling. The increase held for both women and men, though women remained far more likely to report it, and the rise was steepest in the South.

Researcher Anita Raj said the data cannot determine whether harassment itself increased or whether awareness and willingness to report grew after Me Too, but noted no evidence of a decline despite new state laws restricting nondisclosure agreements. A separate researcher, Holly Kearl, has tracked street harassment specifically since 2017, arguing prior research had been too narrowly focused on workplaces or schools to capture the full picture.

The full dispatch is available from the source below.