Life after #metoo

After the Weinstein story broke, women across the world began sharing their experiences of sexual harassment, abuse and assault under the social media hashtag #metoo . 

Most had dismissed their experiences as not worthy of attention but with #metoo, the western world began to wake up to the realisation that abuse, harassment and assault of women was commonplace and there was a universal call for attitudes and behaviour to change.

No industry or profession was immune and workplace discrimination made headlines.

However, after the initial shock, while the horrors of #metoo have not gone away, they are no longer getting the same level of attention they did in the wake of the Weinstein scandal.

In the political sphere, many allegations and revelations were made about behaviour in the UK Parliament and, to a lesser extent, Holyrood.

At Westminster, a recent report found one in five people had experienced sexual harassment in the past 12 months, with behaviour ranging from inappropriate conduct to groping to rape.

The survey was released by Commons Leader Andrea Leadsom and was accompanied by recommendations for an independent grievance procedure for staff working in Westminster.

Leadsom said: “This is a big day for parliament and our politics. The new independent procedure will demonstrate that we want to be the best parliament in the world when it comes to treating everyone who works here with dignity and respect.

“This is a major step in bringing about the culture change that parliament needs.”

In the Scottish Parliament, Mark McDonald resigned as the SNP’s children’s minister in November amid allegations of inappropriate behaviour. 

He quit the SNP in March, following a party investigation which concluded that his behaviour had been “deliberate in nature”.

He said at the time: “While at no stage was my behaviour in any way physically abusive, and while it was certainly not my intention to cause any upset, discomfort or offence to those concerned, it is clear through the concerns highlighted in the report that I have done so.

“That is something which I deeply regret. I would like to take the opportunity here and now to offer a public and unreserved apology to those individuals for the hurt and offence that I have caused them.”

A subsequent report by the Commissioner for Ethical Standards in Public Life in Scotland on McDonald’s behaviour was believed to have been discussed by Holyrood’s Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee (SPPA) in private last week.

Holyrood understands the Aberdeen Donside MSP, who is currently sitting as an independent, was found guilty of sending an inappropriate message on social media and of poor judgement after borrowing a sum of money from a member of his staff, which he then paid back some weeks later.

It is also understood he was cleared of the other complaints against him and questions were raised about the value and veracity of evidence given by the complainant, the MSP James Dornan.

What further discussions or sanctions, if any, the committee may wish to now impose on McDonald are still to be decided, although Holyrood understands that legal opinion has also been expressed about whether his behaviour would amount to sexual harassment in the context of equalities and employment legislation.

In terms of sanctions, MSPs could decide on a number of different measures against McDonald, potentially including suspension subject to a full vote by parliament.

However, while this is the only incident to be officially investigated by the Scottish Parliament, others have been revealed.

In November, Labour MSP Monica Lennon described how she was sexually assaulted by a senior member of the Labour Party at a social event.

Speaking to the Sunday Mail, Lennon said a male colleague groped her in front of a room full of people but that Labour treated the incident as a joke.

The MSP made an initial complaint but dropped further action because she was concerned she would not be believed.

Lennon said: “A man, who was a senior figure in the party, touched me in a manner that some would say is ‘handsy’. He was sitting next to me when he groped me, in full view of other people.

“I don’t want to go into the full details but he touched my body, in an intimate way, without invitation or permission. This shouldn’t happen to anyone.

“It’s possible at least half a dozen people saw exactly what happened.

“One man, who at the time was a Labour politician, joked to everyone in earshot, ‘That’s your fault for coming over here and getting him all excited’.”

She added: “A few days later I ran into another man who had seen what happened and he made a jokey reference to it.

“The underlying message was clear, the whole thing was to be treated as a joke. I felt disappointed, hurt, embarrassed and let down.”

A Labour Party spokesman said: “The party takes all complaints of sexual harassment, abuse and discrimination extremely seriously.

“We ask that anyone with a complaint comes forward so that allegations can be properly investigated. When evidence of misconduct comes to light, all appropriate disciplinary action is taken in line with the party’s rule book and procedures.

“The party has been working with its affiliates to develop procedures specifically designed to deal with complaints of sexual harassment and safeguarding issues in order to improve internal processes and make it easier to report concerns.”

In April, it was reported that SNP MSP Richard Lyle had made comments about the size of a woman’s breasts at a Christmas party.

Lyle told the Sunday Post: “I realised afterwards that my comment was inappropriate. I sought that person out and apologised, and gave her a box of chocolates by way of an apology.

“I did make a comment, I then regretted making that comment and I apologised to that person.

“It was at an SNP Christmas party, and it was an inappropriate comment that I do regret making and I fully apologise for it.”

He reportedly apologised after being confronted by the woman’s boss.

A formal complaint was never lodged and the SNP said no further action had been taken.

Meanwhile, the SPPA committee recently released a report into sexual harassment at the Scottish Parliament and called for procedures to be “urgently addressed”.

This follows the news that a fifth of Scottish Parliament staff, including one in three women, had experienced sexual harassment or sexist behaviour.

Committee convener Clare Haughey MSP said: “This committee is responsible for recommending any changes to the code of conduct for MSPs. 

“Our report explores some of the weaknesses and shortcomings we have identified with current arrangements and proposes solutions which will need to be developed in detail by the relevant parties working together. 

“Key amongst our aims must be promoting a culture in which unwanted behaviour and sexual harassment is unacceptable and people have the confidence to report misconduct. Thereafter we must ensure that any complaints are effectively dealt with.”

Deputy convener Patrick Harvie said there was “clearly” still work to be done to put in place a new central policy on sexual harassment that applies to all campus users.

He added that there were some “more substantial issues” that the committee will return to.

MSPs considered the report in the chamber on Thursday.

The SPPA committee made a number of key recommendations in the report. One included the creation of a central policy on sexual harassment applying to all campus users. Others include the ongoing monitoring and reporting of work to reduce the incidence and promote the reporting of sexual harassment; regular reporting about complaint numbers and outcomes; and encouraging positive culture change through mandatory training.

While it is only the case against McDonald which has been formally investigated, it is clear the SPPA report comes at a pertinent time.

One of the important points it states is that a central policy on harassment should encompass the “definitions and examples of what is and is not harassment covering a range of behaviours”. 

It says that most witnesses agreed that the Equalities Act 2010 definition was a good one but that the parliament’s policy should expand on it to provide more detail and examples. 

The Equality Act 2010 definition of sexual harassment is: “Unwanted contact of a sexual nature which has the purpose or effect of violating someone’s dignity, or of creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for them.”

The Scottish Parliament’s Joint Working Group on Sexual Harassment last week released a zero tolerance statement and is developing guidance which will include examples of the behaviours the group expect to see from everyone in Holyrood.

The statement read: “Every person has the right to work in an environment that promotes respect, fairness, equality, and dignity and enables them to make their best contribution. 

“Sexist behaviour and sexual harassment do not belong in the parliament and we are committed to creating the shared understanding of appropriate behaviours, culture, and accountability mechanisms that will eradicate them.”

Monica Lennon summed up what many women have felt when she said that she feared she would be disbelieved if she came forward. If #metoo is to have a lasting impact, anyone who feels they have been subjected to abuse or harassment must feel confident about coming forward. 

And on the other side of the coin, there must also be guidelines in place so that all workplaces and organisations can investigate and judge allegations fairly and quickly.

Tackling the root causes of this issue is going to take time but let’s hope that as long as people continue to talk about it, it can be achieved.