Labors Will Do What The Tories Won't - Tackle Sexual Harassment at Work
Horrible claims of sexual harassment have devastated public life in recent years. Strong men were discovered abusing young women while living in plain sight for years; in recent weeks, attention has focused on these horrifying deeds.
However, when it comes to the experiences of millions of women in workplaces across Britain, these well-publicized incidents are merely the tip of the iceberg. Being prominent women in the public eye, we are all too frequently approached by women who have experienced sexual harassment taking away their self-esteem, ruining their lives, and ending their careers.
Furthermore, according to data provided by the government, about one-third of working women reported having experienced some kind of sexual harassment at work in the previous 12 months.
That translates to millions of women facing threats, harassment, and humiliation on a daily basis. Millions of women are compelled to change occupations because they do not feel comfortable going to work, while more than 40% of those who commit crimes see no consequences. Victims disappointed and justice denied.
Numerous instances have been demonstrated when the victim of harassment bears the consequences rather than the harasser. Each day, we hear about it. A senior staff member intimidated the woman and threatened to reveal her identify, discouraging her from reporting the harassment. Another was driven by the agony of witnessing her harasser every day to leave her job under stress.
This is an unbearable scenario for these women. It is insufficient to assign the victims—rather than the employers—all of the burden of handling and reporting harassment. With the knowledge that their employer has taken precautions to provide a safe workplace, everyone should be able to arrive at work free from sexual harassment.
Taking measures after the fact to stop sexual harassment is insufficient. First and foremost, we must establish environments at work where harassment is nonexistent. For this reason, the incoming Labour government will enact a separate law mandating companies to take all appropriate precautions against sexual harassment.
Employers will only be held accountable under Labour's proposed legislation if they neglect to take action to prevent sexual harassment from occurring at their places of business. Until then, they will not be held responsible for events beyond their control. The key distinction in this case is the emphasis now is on prevention rather than reaction to a sexual harassment incidence after it has occurred.
There can be no gray areas when it comes to sexual harassment. Labour maintains its unwavering commitment to shielding employees from harassment by clients and consumers. We will collaborate with businesses to establish the parameters and conditions necessary to guarantee that workers are shielded from sexual harassment of any kind.
Even the government acknowledges that the victim now bears too much of the burden of having to endure a grueling account of an occurrence to their employer. However, the Tories are still taking their time responding to their survey on ending workplace sexual harassment, which was held four years ago.
Therefore, Labour will appropriately address workplace sexual harassment, something that this Tory government will not. That's not all, though. We'll cut the amount of violence against women and girls, toughen terms for rape and stalking offenders, and declare misogyny a hate crime. Women who experience incapacitating menopause symptoms at work will also receive the assistance they need. We'll also give women entrepreneurs more power.
The futures of far too many women have been robbed. The next Labour government will work to ensure that every woman in our nation has the promising future that she is entitled to.
References
Dodds, A., & Rayner, A. (2023, October 8). Unlike the Tories, we will tackle sexual abuse at work. Magzter. Retrieved October 14, 2023, from https://www.magzter.com/stories/newspaper/The-Independent/UNLIKE-THE-TORIES-WE-WILL-TACKLE-SEXUAL-ABUSE-AT-WORK
Independent. (2023, October 7). Labour will do what Tories won't – tackle sexual harassment at work. The Independent. Retrieved October 14, 2023, from https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/labour-workplace-sexual-harrassment-rayner-abuse-b2425749.html
Newswav. (2023, October 10). Voices: Labour will do what the Tories won't – tackle sexual harassment at work. Newswav. Retrieved October 14, 2023, from https://newswav.com/article/voices-labour-will-do-what-the-tories-won-t-tackle-sexual-harassment-at-wor-A2310_3Iar6B