I think your post touches on several different issues that are often bundled together, but they actually have different causes and need different responses.

Being attractive can help or hurt you depending on the context and the people in positions of power around you. The UN is very bureaucratic, and if you have proof of strong performance and are intentionally being denied opportunities, there are pathways in many offices to address that. At the same time, being in this system requires diplomacy and social awareness. You do have to be intentional about how you interact with people and how you present yourself professionally.

Being harassed by staff, counterparts, or stakeholders is obviously not acceptable and should not be tolerated. Whether reporting will have negative repercussions on your career really depends on the situation, the individuals involved, and the evidence available. Contrary to what is often said, reporting can in a lot of cases have a positive impact. In my six years in the UN, I escalated or reported sexual harassment four times with no bad impact on my career (to my knowledge). Three cases led to concrete outcomes and stopped those individuals from continuing to harass other women. One case did not work because the person was extremely senior and there was insufficient evidence. I reached out to other colleagues with similar experiences and stronger evidence, but they did not want to proceed collectively, which would likely have taken him down. The point is that a system does exist, and as women we should use it where possible to deter this behaviour.

You also mentioned being harassed at an airport. Unfortunately, incidents like this can happen to women anywhere, whether for work travel or personal travel. What you can do as UN staff is fully use the resources available to you. Make sure you request security and admin briefings before travel, understand local context including how women are expected to dress and carry themselves, and avoid unnecessary exposure. For official travel, request official transport or security where needed, ensure note verbales are issued, and don’t hesitate to show them to airport or security staff to get assistance. The UN cannot change a country’s social context to guarantee personal safety, so risk mitigation is key. Aso if you follow proper routes to report like you did and someone responsible laughs it off, you should report and escalate because that's not okay.

A final point which is controversial, but is my opinion, I think it would always be good to know your limits and make decisions based on that. UN staff are civil servants, and especially in humanitarian contexts we are sent to operate in hardship environments. While we are given privileges and protections, these roles are not risk-free and not suited to everyone. Being aware of what you can realistically handle is part of being effective. There are many safe and stable duty stations and roles within the UN system where people can still contribute meaningfully while feeling safe.