Cassie Marra was just 19 years old and in her first job at a supermarket when a co-worker used the employee phone directory to start sending her unwanted text messages.

Key points: Young, female retail workers are facing 'blatant' sexual harassment

Young, female retail workers are facing 'blatant' sexual harassment Those most likely to be harassed are women under the age of 30 by men under 30

Those most likely to be harassed are women under the age of 30 by men under 30 Most incidents go unreported, but unions are calling for law reform and a tough response from employers

The colleague then used the roster to figure out when she would be at her second job.

He started turning up there as well.

Ms Marra, from Melbourne, did not tell her employer what was happening because the colleague was more senior.

"I didn't say anything to anyone because I thought I was being paranoid," she said.

"I needed shifts otherwise I couldn't eat, I couldn't go to uni, I couldn't do anything.

"You feel like there is no recourse, no-one you can go to, there's no-one you can talk to."

Like many teenagers, Ms Marra's first taste of the working world was in retail, but for some young women, it is also their introduction to workplace sexual harassment.

A survey of more than 3,000 union members by the Australian Human Rights Commission, released today, shows young workers in the retail and fast food industries are more likely to be sexually harassed than those in other sectors.

The largest group of harassers was customers, at 36 per cent.

Various forms of co-workers made up the rest of the harassers:

Peers (27 per cent)

Peers (27 per cent) Senior co-workers (12 per cent)

Senior co-workers (12 per cent) Managers (12 per cent)

Managers (12 per cent) Direct supervisors (11 per cent)

Direct supervisors (11 per cent) Business owners (3 per cent)

More than one response was possible.

Female retail workers under 30 years old were most likely to be harassed, making up 46 per cent of all victims. Of everyone in that age bracket who reported being sexually harassed, they revealed it happened, on average, seven times in the past year.

Some of the first-hand examples reported by survey respondents included:

"Customers have threatened to rape me in the car park."

"Customers have threatened to rape me in the car park." "Wearing a name badge also makes it easy for predators to look us up online."

"Wearing a name badge also makes it easy for predators to look us up online." "I was asked yesterday by a customer what condoms I use with my boyfriend."

"I was asked yesterday by a customer what condoms I use with my boyfriend." "Having a customer with his hands down his pants whilst looking at me down the aisle."

The customer is not always right

The Human Rights Commission conducted the survey for the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association (SDA) union.

Sex discrimination commissioner Kate Jenkins said the figures showed sexual harassment was a community-wide problem.

Sexual Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins said it was assumed conditions for retail workers were getting better. ( ABC News: Patrick Stone )

"Young people [are] still growing up in a community where gender inequality exists, where sexism exists, where social media images really value women and girls for how they look," she said.

"It really calls out retail and fast food outlets to start looking at the behaviour of customers and [to] make sure the young workers know that they can speak up."

SDA national assistant secretary Julia Fox said the union wanted to see trespass laws reformed so businesses could ban problem customers.

The SDA would also like to see more education and training for co-workers.

If not, Ms Fox said businesses were making themselves vulnerable to workplace injury claims and reputational damage.

"We have dropped the ball and it's time employers really focused on this issue," she said.

As part of the survey, the Human Rights Commission collected anecdotal reports about the types of sexual harassment workers had experienced.

Workers also reported: "My harasser sits outside my work in the food court and watches me." "I had a guy continuously come into the store to see me and he followed all my social media accounts and sent and said really sexual things to me. I was 15 at the time." "I tried to give him change and he tried to grab my hand and somewhere else." "I've had customers reach out and touch my name badge so they can brush their hand on my breast."

The forms of harassment included:

Suggestive comments or jokes that made people feel offended (26 per cent)

Suggestive comments or jokes that made people feel offended (26 per cent) Intrusive questions (21 per cent),

Intrusive questions (21 per cent), Leering (17 per cent)

Leering (17 per cent) Unwelcome touching (10 per cent)

Unwelcome touching (10 per cent) Inappropriate contact (7 per cent)

Inappropriate contact (7 per cent) Being followed (6 per cent)

Being followed (6 per cent) Repeated invitations for dates (4 per cent)

The survey found three-quarters of incidents took place at an employee's work station, such as a cash register or food preparation area.

Many workers mentioned having their hands touched or grabbed through drive-through windows as they tried to hand customers change.

"Some of the men will blatantly say things such as 'you are so pretty, why are you working here' and try to hold my hand when I give them their change back," one worker reported.

Another recurring problem was customers using name tags to track workers down using social media, or to touch their chest.

Ms Fox said retail workers were already frequently swapping name tags with co-workers to avoid identification.

"I think we need to address the reasons workers are feeling unsafe then issues like name badges won't be so important."

Julia Fox said it was time employees started focusing on the issue. ( ABC News: Patrick Stone )

Workers as young as 15 harassed

Ms Jenkins said, as a parent, she had been shocked by some of the reports from employees as young as 15 collected as part of the survey.

It found 51 per cent of girls aged 15 to 17 had experienced sexual harassment at work and often young people thought "it makes me feel creepy, but should I make a fuss?".

Retail harassment at a glance: Forty six per cent of women working in retail experience sexual harassment, compared to 29 per cent of men

Forty six per cent of women working in retail experience sexual harassment, compared to 29 per cent of men The most common forms of harassment are suggestive comments or jokes, followed by leering

The most common forms of harassment are suggestive comments or jokes, followed by leering Workers aged 18-29 who said they had each been sexually harassed by a customer, on average, seven times in 12 months

Workers aged 18-29 who said they had each been sexually harassed by a customer, on average, seven times in 12 months Only 4 per cent of people reported inappropriate campaigns or uniforms, but one in five of those workers said it led to them being sexually harassed

One girl wrote about an older man who repeatedly comes into the store to see her.

"He followed all my social media accounts and sent and said really sexual things to me — I was 15 at the time."

Ms Jenkins said it was a wake-up call to parents.

"I think parents should be looking at workplaces where kids are going and really asking 'what are the arrangements in place?'."

The ABC asked several retail and fast food outlets what they did to protect their workers.

In a statement, Coles — one of the biggest retail employers in Australia — said it had procedures in place and free employee assistance programs.

A McDonald's spokeswoman said security measures included CCTV, training, strict workplace policies, security protocols and security guards.

While a Woolworths spokeswoman said the company did not tolerate threatening and abusive behaviour and would not hesitate to ban customers who did not comply.

Advertising harassment: report

The report found 4 per cent of workers had been sexually harassed because of an inappropriate marketing campaign by a retailer.

And it found that when retailers did have a suggestive campaign, it led to one in five of their workers being sexually harassed.

Do you know more about this story? Email Specialist.Team@abc.net.au

Cassie Marra said the harassment at work affected her mental health. ( ABC News: Patrick Stone )

The survey also found harassment took a heavy toll on the mental health of retail workers.

Nearly half said it affected their mental health and more than one-third said it affected their self-esteem.

Ms Marra, now 25, knows this all too well.

She has spent more than six years in retail and said years of questioning whether she was simply being paranoid eroded her self-confidence.

"I felt worthless, I internalised everything, I blamed myself for everything and it bled it into my actual life," Ms Marra said.

"I lost confidence in my schooling, I lost confidence in my interactions, I lost friendships because I couldn't trust anyone. I couldn't trust myself."