The long overdue #MeToo movement against sexual harassment of women has already peaked 17-months after the explosive 2017 allegations against Hollywood’s Harvey Weinstein, with men especially less sympathetic to it in the workplace, according to a new survey.
While a majority of adults still see it as a major problem, fewer see it that way than two years ago. And among men, significantly more believe people are “too sensitive” to the issue, according to the latest Gallup survey.
“Less than a year and a half after the #Metoo movement took America by storm, men in the U.S. have become less likely to say that sexual harassment is a major problem in the workplace and that people in the workplace are not sensitive enough to it,” said the survey analysis.
“This preponderance of news coverage may have put men on the defensive. Or it may be that they had a strong reaction in the immediate wake of the Weinstein allegations and start of the #Metoo movement, but that they have become somewhat desensitized to the issue since then,” it added.
The new numbers show that even among women the issue has plateaued.
Overall, 62 percent of adults believe sexual harassment is a “major problem.” That is down from 69 percent in 2017.
Among men, 53 percent see it as a major problem, down from 66 percent in October 2017.
For women, 70 percent call it a major problem, down from 73 percent in 2017.
While still in the minority, more also see that “people in the workplace are too sensitive” to the issue, said Gallup.
For men, 45 percent said people are “too sensitive,” while 46 percent said they aren’t “sensitive enough.” At the height of the movement, 54 percent said people were “not sensitive enough,” versus 33 percent who felt people were “too sensitive.”
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