Great Britain: government gives a voice to victims of sexual harassment at work

On 17 January 2020 the UK government launched a major survey of 12,200 victims of sexual harassment, giving them an opportunity to express themselves. The goal of the ruling Conservative government is to use their narratives to effect work-related legislative change if needed. According to a ComRes research report carried out for the BBC, in 2017 40% of UK females believed they had been subject to inappropriate sexual behavior at work. Minister for Women, Victoria Atkins stated, “This survey will help us build a clear picture of who is affected and where. Working together with business, we can stamp it out.” The survey results, which will be published in the springtime, form part of a broad framework combatting harassment that the government presented in the summer of 2019 (c.f. article No. 11223). The framework intends in particular to make employers legally responsible for protecting their staff from sexual harassment as well as adopting a mandatory corporate code of conduct, a preliminary version of which was recently published (here) by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC). The EHRC has already written to 400 heads of the nation’s largest companies sharing the new code with them and encouraging them to take action before it is definitely put in place in the spring.