Members of Parliament found to have sexually harassed staff should be automatically elected to each term without the need to seek recall, the government’s sexual assault adviser has said. I.
Duncan Craig OBE, director of the charity We Are Survivors, who is a member of the Victims Advisory Group to the Secretary of State for Victims Services, also said it was “absolutely crazy” that those who have had their whip removed in such circumstances can still be considered victims. independent candidate.
Conservative MP Peter Bone was suspended for six weeks this week after the parliamentary watchdog confirmed six allegations of bullying and sexual harassment against him by a former male staffer, which the MP denies.
The charges state that the former minister “indecently exposed himself to the complainant”, “repeatedly struck and threw objects” and “repeatedly exerted pressure”. [the complainant] give him a massage in the office.”
The former employee who made the complaints told the BBC the experience left him with “a broken shell of the young man I once was”.
Mr Bone has not resigned, meaning the by-election will only take place if at least 10 per cent of voters in his Wellingborough constituency sign the petition. But in cases like this, says Craig, co-founder of We Are Survivors, the system needs to change to support male victims of sexual assault.
“If this happened in a company, this person [would be] away from my work,” he said. I. “It needs to happen now, and it should automatically lead to midterm elections.” Serious allegations against former Tory MP Chris Pincher, which he denied, only led to a by-election because he resigned last month.
If a by-election is held in Bone’s constituency following the recall petition and the removal of the Tory whip, he will still be able to stand as an independent candidate.
“It’s completely crazy,” Craig said. “I don’t understand how we are in a system where this is allowed. I’m certainly not saying they should never work again. But you shouldn’t just say, “Now that I don’t have this outlet anymore, I can just move on.” Nolan’s principles must be fully acknowledged [the ethical standards for public office] should be of paramount importance. But they don’t.
Allowing MPs who have confirmed allegations of sexual harassment to continue to stand as independent candidates “sends a signal” that “we don’t take victim status seriously”, Craig said, which could impact the chances of others coming forward. “The person who was going to speak up thinks, ‘There’s no point because no one will believe me’—it’s not taken seriously.”
The furore surrounding Mr Bone comes after fellow Conservative Crispin Blunt announced on Thursday that he had been arrested and questioned over a rape allegation. Mr Blunt said he was “confident” the police investigation would “conclude without charges being laid”.
If a recall campaign is launched in Mr Bone’s Northamptonshire constituency, the assessment of sexual assault allegations against another man will depend on his constituents. ‘Cause we’re talking about a man [alleged] “Victims, I wonder how many voters would be as outraged as if we were talking about female victims,” Craig said. While women are often not believed and crimes against them are often not properly investigated, leading to very low conviction rates, there remains a cultural problem around the perception of male victims of sexual violence, he added.
“We need to have a real adult conversation about the fact that we don’t necessarily see the vulnerability of male victims in the same way that we see female victims,” he said.
“I’ve spent the last 15 years complaining about ‘breaking the silence’ and yelling at the police for not doing enough. I have been actively involved in advising Westminster. And yet I still find myself in situations where I have very similar conversations.” One of them is based on “the belief that men can even be victims.”
Politicians, ministers and commissioners often assume his organization works mainly with gay men, but 83 per cent of its service users are heterosexual. “I think there is some homophobia here,” he said. “There is an assumption that this doesn’t happen to ‘real men’.”
Last year, We Are Survivors, which offers individual and group counseling, saw a 50 percent increase in the number of men seeking help from the organization compared to 2022.
One of the reasons for this huge increase is the charity’s commitment EastEnders last year’s storyline in which character Ben Mitchell was raped. “Any serious discussion in the media about high-profile cases or the issue of sexual violence encourages people to seek support,” he said. “In regions where there is a recognized support service, people are more confident to go the extra mile.”
However, encouraging men of color to seek help remains a particular challenge. Figures from the Manchester-based charity show that only about 10 per cent of men seeking help are black or Asian.
Charity launches first magazine for male victims of sexual violence. Beyond silence. Distributed online and in print, this groundbreaking quarterly publication features stories from male survivors and information on where to go for help. Craig hopes this will lead to a cultural change in how male victims are treated.
“We decided to do something to influence decision-makers, tell stories and try to guide society as a whole along this path,” he said. “This is a magazine where we focus on trauma and healing and discuss: How do we support male survivors?” How do we talk about this? And how can we as a society prevent this from happening?”
Source: I News
I’m Raymond Molina, a professional writer and journalist with over 5 years of experience in the media industry. I currently work for 24 News Reporters, where I write for the health section of their news website. In my role, I am responsible for researching and writing stories on current health trends and issues. My articles are often seen as thought-provoking pieces that provide valuable insight into the state of society’s wellbeing.