A CONFIDENTIAL telephone hot-line is being set up after claims that sexual harassment is rife at the Scottish Parliament, some of it worthy of criminal prosecution.
In a joint statement, Presiding Officer Ken Macintosh and chief executive Sir Paul Grice announced the initiative after ”disturbing and deeply concerning” reports in the media.
They also called an urgent meeting to discuss the situation today with the leaders of all five parties in the parliament.
They urged people to report any abusive behaviour, and said they were working on an anonymised survey of parliament staff to gauge the extent of the problem.
They said: “The Parliament takes a zero-tolerance approach to sexual or any other form of harassment and we would strongly urge anyone who has witnessed or experienced harassment to report it to the Parliamentary authorities.
"We fully appreciate that, regardless of who you are, coming forward with allegations of this nature can be an extremely daunting, indeed traumatic, prospect.
"We have therefore instructed the parliamentary authorities to set up a dedicated, confidential phone-line to provide those directly affected or concerned about sexual harassment with a professional source of advice.”
There have been fewer than 10 complaints to the parliamentary authorities about sexual misconduct in the past five years, however parties have separate internal procedures.
Aamer Anwar, the human rights lawyer and rector of Glasgow University, told the Sunday Herald the sexual harassment of women was a “ticking time bomb” for the parties.
He told BBC Radio Scotland yesterday: “It is a catalogue of abuse, everything from cyber stalking to touching up to inappropriate behaviour to actual physical assault, and nothing has been done about it, there is a lack of confidence in the procedures."
Referring to allegations against MPs and the disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, he added: “Everybody in the Scottish Parliament has spoken out about Weinstein and Westminster, but there has been pretty much abject silence on this issue.”
Mr Anwar, who has high level contacts in the SNP, said he had heard stories about women in Scottish politics experiencing abuse and harassment “for as long as I can remember”.
He said: “A lot of the behaviour if it happened in a public street, if it happened in a pub, in a restaurant, these individuals would be arrested, they would be prosecuted and they would probably appear on the sex offenders' register.
"Yet for some reason these people, because they are politicians, male politicians, they think they can get away with this behaviour.”
He urged parties to say how many individuals had been disciplined for sexual harassment.
“I suspect the answer is zero. There is no point in having reporting procedures and processes if you can't do anything about it."
Former Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale said she had heard of “several male MSPs” using inappropriate sexual language and being guilty of sexual harassment.
She said: “You have to ask yourself, why aren't we hearing these names, why aren't women coming forward? That's about the culture that permeates politics, not just here in Edinburgh but across the whole of the UK.
"Women are scared to raise their hand, they're scared of being labelled trouble, they're scared of not being believed and they're scared of no action being taken, which is why it's high time the parliament took control of the situation to create an environment where women can come forward confidentially and share their experiences."
Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson said her party was now reviewing an internal support service set up in 2011 in light of the “deeply troubling” allegations.
She said: “Sexual harassment in the workplace is wrong and must not be tolerated. Those in positions of power, like MPs and MSPs, have an even greater responsibility to lead by example and show respect for all members of staff.
“We cannot be complacent. Collectively, politics needs to get its house in order and make it clear that we do not accept the abuse of power in any way, shape or form.”
SNP MSP Sandra White has tabled an urgent question at Holyrood today asking the Scottish Government what action it is taking to deal with sexual harassment.
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