A culture of bullying and sexual harassment pervades the lower house of UK's parliament and it may take generations to change that, the staff who came forward said, according to an independent inquiry.
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 15th October, 2018) A culture of bullying and sexual harassment pervades the lower house of UK's parliament and it may take generations to change that, the staff who came forward said, according to an independent inquiry.
The 155-page report by Dame Laura Cox was published after complaints of bullying against House of Commons Speaker John Bercow by his former private secretaries. He denied any wrongdoing.
It documents "a culture, cascading from the top down, of deference, subservience, acquiescence and silence, in which bullying, harassment and sexual harassment have been able to thrive."
"The general description is therefore of a corrosive culture, in which bullying and harassment, in particular of women, have become normalized," Dame Laura Cox wrote.
The report cites unconfirmed allegations of female employees being repeatedly propositioned, abused "in vulgar, gender-related terms," being grabbed or touched in other inappropriate ways.
The author said the pride in working for parliament transformed into lack of support for those being bullied, with victims warned of committing a "career suicide" if they complained.
She concluded by quoting unnamed staffers who referred to there being "probably two or three generations to go at the top before anything will really change."
A fundamental change, she noted with resignation, requires genuine commitment on the part of the House leadership, which is "extremely difficult" considering that the levers of change are seen as part of the change that is needed.
