Westminster Too: On Sexual Harassment in British Politics

Abstract

At the end of 2017, millions of women used the #MeToo hashtag to draw attention to widespread sexual harassment and assault around the world. In British politics, female politicians, staff members, and journalists opened up about their own experiences, provoking the resignation and party suspension of a number of male Cabinet ministers and Members of Parliament. This article explores how this issue got on the political agenda, what features of politics might foster harassment and discourage reporting, and what solutions might be pursued to tackle this problem. It argues that sexual harassment should be understood as a systemic, cultural problem, rather than a question of problematic individuals. Ignoring the issue of sexual harassment in politics, the article concludes, has serious consequences for gender equality-as well as for democracy itself, reducing policy effectiveness, distorting the political pipeline, and diminishing political transparency and accountability.

The Cost of Doing Politics? Analyzing Violence and Harassment against Female Politicians

“…Sexual harassment entails unwelcome sexual comments or advances. In recent years, elected men who have lost their positions because of such allegations include Mbulelo Goniwe, chief whip for the African National Congress party in South Africa in 2006; Massimo Pacetti and Scott Andrews, Liberal MPs in Canada in 2014; Silvan Shalom, interior minister of Israel in 2015; and Denis Baupin, vice president of the French National Assembly in 2016 (Krook 2018b). The rise of the #MeToo movement in 2017 has accelerated similar disclosures in countries as diverse as Britain, Canada, Korea, Russia, and the United States.…”

Silver or Lead? Why Violence and Corruption Limit Women’s Representation

“…Women MPs at Westminster describe how they have been subjected to violence ranging from direct physical threats, intimidation, damage to their property, and notes slipped under their doors, to bullying and harassment by journalists, and abusive, threatening and violent comments online. For some, the abuse started when they were candidates, whilst some only experienced it after being elected (Jewell 2016;Krook 2018b). A growing body of work based on official policy complaints has documented how the use of social media has exacerbated a climate of harassment and threats (Bardall 2013).…”

3. Feminist Reflections on Representative Democracy

“…For example, all three major parties blocked the attempt in 2012 to give the Parliamentary Committee for Standards the scope to deal with issues of sexual misconduct. 7 Frequently brought to public attention, as various allegations are reported, only recently have there been active efforts to change this culture and it remains to be seen whether the measures will actually amount to anything. MPs and parliamentary staff are under severe pressure to remain silent about such abuse.…”