Sturgeon urges senior SNP men to reflect on behaviour
●Letter comes as Labour activist says she was warned off reporting rape
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has urged SNP figures “in positions of power” to reflect on their behaviour and ask themselves whether they have been guilty of sexually harassing or abusing women.
Last night it emerged the SNP leader has written to all her parliamentarians and staff warning them that inappropriate conduct will not be tolerated in the party.
The letter follows the revelation that complaints of sexually inappropriate behaviour have been made against two Nationalist parliamentarians.
The allegations, which are not connected, are being investigated by the party and have come to light as concern mounts about the conduct of individuals involved in UK politics.
A string of allegations about the sexual misconduct of prominent Westminster politicians have been aired on social media, and yesterday Labour activist Bex Bailey said she was raped at a party event in 2011. Ms Bailey claimed a senior Labour official discouraged her from reporting the attack on the grounds that it could “damage” her. The activist said she was given no advice on what to do after being assaulted.
In her letter, Ms Sturgeon said she had instructed that “an additional confidential, independent route” should be put in place to ensure that victims of harassment in the SNP had the confidence to raise any concerns.
Those wishing to make a complaint or allegation have been told they can get in touch with the party’s solicitor to give them a point of contact outside the party structure.
The solicitor would then report back to the party’s national secretary. The Scottish Parliament has also pledged to set up a telephone hotline that can be used by anyone working at Holyrood with concerns about inappropriate behaviour.
Ms Sturgeon’s letter included a stark warning for those at the top of the party. “To those of you in positions of
“To those of you in positions of power, I urge you to take some time to reflect on your own behaviour” NICOLA STURGEON Superior suggested young Labour activist ‘not report’ rape at party event
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power, I urge you to take some time to reflect on your own behaviour,” she wrote. “Read what women in particular have been saying about their experiences in the workplace and consider whether any of those instances would ever apply to your past or current behaviour.”
To those who were on the receiving end of inappropriate behaviour, she said she wanted them to feel confident enough to come forward.
“I can assure you that your concerns will be taken seriously, dealt with confidentially if that is your wish, and investigated appropriately. Of course, if you believe that you may have been the victim of a crime, you should not hesitate to go the police,” she said.
The First Minister said the current crisis should be a “watershed moment” in how “we perceive and address the issues of sexual harassment and inappropriately sexualised behaviours in the workplace”.
Earlier, Deputy First Minister John Swinney said men across Scotland must examine their behaviour in all aspects of their lives if sexual harassment is to be halted.
Mr Swinney was speaking on a day that a series of measures were announced to tackle the problem. Ms Sturgeon has charged her most senior civil servant, permanent secretary Leslie Evans, with reviewing the Scottish Government’s processes for dealing with complaints of sexual harassment.
Similar exercises are to be undertaken by Scotland’s political parties while Holyrood Presiding Officer Ken Macintosh said those working at the Scottish Parliament would be asked to undertake an anonymised survey in an attempt to uncover the extent of the problem. A hotline is also to be launched for workers at the Scottish Parliament.
Mr Macintosh chaired a meeting of party leaders last night at which a zero tolerance approach to sexual misconduct and harassment was unanimously agreed.
Ms Sturgeon and Alex Rowley, Labour’s interim leader, were at the meeting which was also attended by Jackson Carlaw of the Tories and Liam Mcarthur of the Lib Dems, who stood in for Ruth Davidson and Willie Rennie. Ms Davidson and Mr Rennie had family commitments.
Controversy over sexual harassment in Scottish public life erupted at the weekend when human rights lawyer Aamer Anwar claimed women ranging from MSPS to interns had complained of sexual abuse in the Scottish Parliament.
Mr Swinney’s plea to Scottish men came when he took the place of equalities secretary Angela Constance at Holyrood to answer a question on what the Scottish Government was doing about the problem.
Mr Swinney said: “The governmentwantstomake clear that it is the conduct and behaviour of men that needs to change if we are to end the sexual harassment and abuse of women, whether that be in their workplace, their social life or in their home.
“Therefore, as the most senior male minister in the Scottish Government, I wanted to answer this question and to make clear that it is up to men to make these changes and men must examine their own behaviour.
“Sexual harassment or abuse in the workplace or anywhere else is completely unacceptable and must stop, just as the underlying attitudes and inequalities that perpetuate it must also stop.”
He called on the parliament to unite to send “a strong message that there is no place in Scottish politics or in this parliament or in our constituency offices for any form of harassment or abuse”, and urged anyone who had experienced any form of harassment to report it.
Labour MSP Monica Lennon said the parliament’s decision to launch a confidential phone-line was well-intentioned but urged authorities to go further and set up an independent review of the procedures and culture of parliament, informed by women’s organisations and trade unions. A prominent Labour activist has said she was raped at a party event in 2011 and was discouraged from reporting it as it could have damaged her career.
Bex Bailey, 25, a former member of the party’s National Executive Committee, has called for an independent agency to be set up to deal with such issues.
Ms Bailey, who was 19 at the time, told BBC Radio Four’s PM programme she reported the attack to a senior Labour official who warned her that taking the matter further could be bad for her career.
Ms Bailey said the attack was not carried out by an MP, but by an individual more senior to her. “It took me a while to summon up the courage to tell anyone in the party,” she said.
“But, when I did, I told a sen- ior member of staff, who suggested to me that I not report it.”
Asked if she had gone to the police, Ms Bailey said: “No, I didn’t, for all the reasons that I think a lot of women don’t report this. I was scared, I felt ashamed. I know that the Labour Party, like any family, loves a good gossip and I didn’t want people to know, and I also was worried that I wouldn’t be believed if I did. So, no I didn’t.”
Ms Bailey added: “I wasn’t given good advice. I wasn’t given a procedure when I asked for it so that I could, sort of, see what would happen if I did report it and then make a decision.
“It seemed to be that there wasn’t one that