WOMEN  in the international aid industry have recounted their experiences of sexual harassment and abuse in a new survey of more than 1,000 female workers in the humanitarian sector.

“It was like being in a boys' club”said female aid workers

The results of the self-report survey, published by the Humanitarian Women’s Network, revealed that 55% of those questioned said they had suffered sexual advances from a male colleague at least once says a Guardian report published  by the UN.

The research is the first of its kind and suggests that sexual harassment and abuse within the industry could be widespread, according to the organisers of the study.

Forty-eight percent of those who responded to the survey reported unwanted touching by a male colleague, and nearly 20% reported physical aggression directed towards them. Of those who said they had suffered harassment and abuse, a third said it came from a male superior.

The survey drew responses from 1,005 women across the international aid industry who worked for 70 different organisations, including NGOs and UN agencies. Most women – 83% – were international staff, while 17% of responses came from women working within their own country.

Four percent of those who took part said they had been forced to have sex with men they worked alongside.

Most women who suffered predatory sexual advances did not report what had happened to them – 69% said they had not made a complaint within their organization.