Harassment Complaints In Parliament Hangouts
LONDON — A plaque on a wall at the Sports and Social Club, a dingy and stuffy bar in the basement of the Houses of Parliament in London, reads: “The Code of the Man Cave. What happens here stays here! Violators will be shot — survivors will be shot again.”
That jokey warning took on serious undertones recently, as Westminster became embroiled in allegations of sexual misconduct — including groping, suggestive remarks and worse — by lawmakers and others connected to Parliament. The defense minister, Michael Fallon, resigned after admitting he touched a female journalist’s knee.
One facet of t he scandal i nvolves the l i t t l e - known, exclusive hangouts, like the Sports and Social Club, that have often served as alcohol- f ueled i ncubators of predatory behavior. The clubs, 10 in all, are operated by the two houses of Parliament, the Commons and the Lords. Closed to the public, except by invitation, they are frequented by young parliamentary aides and researchers — attracted, in part, by the cheap, t a x payer- subsid i zed drinks — and by their bosses.
The sleazy behavior that has been reported is at odds with the austere appearance of the British Parliament. The drinking establishments have provided an environment that “blurs the professional with the social,” according to Ayesha Hazarika, a former spokeswoman for Harriet Harman, a Labour lawmaker.
It’s “a blur that allows behavior that goes the full range, from lewd comments on how you look to flirtatious discussions that are not professional. You then have people groping, inappropriate touching, to people literally lunging at you,” Ms. Hazarika said, adding that she had been on the receiving end of inappropriate behavior.
“The culture of politics is still very much dominated by men who hold the power,” she said.
“A lot of men are away from their wives during the week and you throw into that a huge number of bars and restaurants and subsidized alcohol, and you have a culture that is very masculine, very macho and very boys club,” she added.
No party in Britain has been immune to allegations of harassment and assault, including the two big- gest, the Conservative Party and Labour. Complaints have come in so fast that the Labour Party set up a website, called LabourToo, to catalog victims’ experiences.
The House of Commons and the House of Lords have said they take all allegations of misconduct seriously. The government says it is devising new, less intimidating ways to report abuse. But some say changes in behavior may be slow to materialize.
At the Sports and Social Club, there are unmistakable signs of shifting attitudes. On the “Code of Man Cave” sign, someone had scrawled the words: “Sexist” and “It’s 2017.”