Abuse of power often
hides in plain sight.
We know it's there,
especially those who
experience it everyday,
but as a society, too often
we don't challenge it.
Change happens when,
led by those who suffer
from abusive power,
we collectively stand up
and say, no more.
So faced with the ongoing revelations
about sexual harassment,
we must make this
a turning point
and a moment of
real change.
We must say,
no more.
We must no longer
allow women,
or anyone else for
that matter,
to be abused in the
workplace or anywhere else.
This is not about peering
into some dark recesses.
This kind of abuse,
sexism and misogyny,
has been hiding
in plain sight.
It is all around us.
It is, sadly, in our schools
and universities,
it is in our businesses
and workplaces,
newspapers and on
our TV screens,
and yes it is in the
corridors of power.
That must change.
It is not enough to say,
this is wrong,
then only tinker with
procedures.
How we respond to this
moment
will shape the way we
live our lives.
We need to make a
fundamental shift
in the balance
of power
and transform the way
our society works.
Labour is committed
not just to
challenging a warped
and degrading culture
in Westminster,
and across society,
but to overturning it.
This week we appointed
a leading barrister
to investigate if and
how the party
got it so painfully wrong
in the case of Bex Bailey.
We are not afraid to turn
the spotlight on ourselves.
And we are now appointing
an independent organisation
to offer confidential
advice and support
to anyone affected by sexual
harassment in our party,
an additional first step
for reporting complaints
to guide and support
complainants through our procedures.
But this change must be
broader and deeper
than just in political
parties,
or in one workplace,
the Houses of Parliament.
Our movement, the labour movement,
founded in the workplace,
standing up to abuses
and imbalances of power.
Trade unions, the representatives
of people at work,
are crucial to taking on
and rooting out
sexual harassment and
discrimination in the workplace.
That’s why those who seek
to weaken trade unions
are undermining action
to deal with
sexual harassment
and sexism at work.
Trade unions must be at the
forefront of this change.
