Category Archives: Sexual harassment

SNP restores whip to MP Patrick Grady after sexual assault suspension

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Alleged victim says end of suspension is ‘slap in face to anyone who has experienced sexual harassment’

The SNP has restored the party whip to a senior MP who has sat as an independent since June after an independent parliamentary inquiry found he made an unwanted sexual advance towards a teenage party worker.

Patrick Grady quit the SNP group at Westminster after a two-day suspension from parliament, imposed after the independent parliamentary standards commissioner found he had made the advances to the then 19-year-old man in 2016. The man to whom he made the advances said the end of Grady’s suspension was “a slap in the face to anyone who has experienced sexual harassment”.

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Flood of sexual abuse lawsuits expected in New York as new law takes effect

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Adult survivors of sexual abuse can now file lawsuits even if the statute of limitations on their claims had already run out

A trickle of high-profile sexual abuse lawsuits passing through New York’s civil courts is likely to become a flood in the coming months because of a new, one-year window for time-expired claims.

Already, some bold-faced names from the worlds of arts, finance and politics have become involved, including Donald Trump and banker Leon Black.

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‘A cop out’: staff condemn NSW parliament’s statement on cultural problems

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Exclusive: ‘Statement of acknowledgment’ fails to recognise Indigenous, culturally diverse or LGBTQIA+ perspectives, say critics

A “statement of acknowledgment” of widespread cultural problems within the New South Wales parliament currently fails to recognise the experiences of Indigenous, culturally diverse and LGBTQIA+ staffers, with one calling it “a cop out”.

A draft form of the acknowledgment, made in response to workplace issues identified by the damning Broderick report, has been circulated ahead of the final to version being delivered in parliament on Tuesday.

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Queensland police commissioner vows to do more to protect whistleblowers after inquiry revelations

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Officers who made complaints say internal witness support unit is understaffed and overwhelmed

Queensland’s police commissioner has vowed to do more to protect whistleblowers, after an inquiry revealed that officers who expose sexual abuse, misogyny and racism in the service often face reprisals from their colleagues.

Police who made complaints against their colleagues have told Guardian Australia that the internal witness support unit – established to support whistleblowers who report breaches of discipline, misconduct or corrupt conduct – is understaffed and overwhelmed.

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New Orleans lawyer fined for alerting school to priest’s past sexual misconduct

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Richard Trahant was fined $400,000 for violating confidentiality rules around a bankruptcy filing by the local archdiocese

A New Orleans attorney who represents victims of clerical sexual abuse faces a $400,000 fine after alerting a local Catholic high school that a priest who worked there once admitted to fondling and kissing a teen girl he met at another church institution.

The lawyer, Richard Trahant, said he would appeal against the hefty sanction handed to him on Tuesday, which stemmed from a federal judge’s ruling that his alert violated confidentiality rules governing a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing by the local archdiocese.

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Victorian fire brigade moves to strike out large parts of commander’s sexual harassment claim

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Commander Donna Wheatley alleges she was groped and had a senior officer expose his genitals

Victoria’s fire service is attempting to strike out large parts of a sexual harassment and assault claim launched by one of its highest-ranking female fighters on the basis of the time she took to come forward with the complaints.

Last year commander Donna Wheatley – one of the first women to reach the senior rank within Fire Rescue Victoria (FRV) – went public with allegations of harassment and gender discrimination across her 20-year career.

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Report upskirting and cyberflashing to the police, victims told

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CPS move comes after it was found most women don’t think some forms of harassment are serious enough to report them

Victims of street harassment such as cyberflashing and upskirting are being encouraged to report offences to police, amid concerns there is a lack of awareness that such behaviour can amount to criminality.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) for England and Wales has published new legal guidance on public sexual abuse, which also includes exposure of genitals, to clarify the law and “send a clear message that this intimidating behaviour can be a criminal offence”.

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Truss vows to outlaw street harassment as Sunak pledges ban on ‘downblousing’

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Tory leadership hopefuls set out plans to tackle violence against women and girls, as Labour’s Stella Creasy welcomes Truss U-turn

Liz Truss has vowed to make street harassment a crime months after a similar move was blocked by Boris Johnson, while Rishi Sunak pledged to outlaw “downblousing” – taking a photo down a woman’s top without consent.

Both Tory leadership candidates set out plans to tackle violence against women and girls, which has been the focus of a longstanding campaign by opposition MPs and feminist activists, especially after the killings of women including Sarah Everard, Sabina Nessa and Zara Aleena.

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Blake Bailey, biographer accused of harassment and rape, to publish memoir

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Bailey’s book on Philip Roth was pulled after former students said he abused them

The author of a Philip Roth biography that was taken out of print by its original publisher last year after allegations that he raped multiple women and groomed his former middle school students for sexual encounters when they were older is gearing up to publish a book billing itself as a warning tale of so-called cancel culture.

Blake Bailey’s latest work is scheduled to be printed by the controversial Skyhorse Publishing, which picked up his Roth book and an earlier memoir after WW Norton took it out of print and pledged to donate money to sexual abuse organizations equaling the advance it had paid to the biographer.

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Victoria’s move to restrict ‘silencing’ sexual harassment victims welcomed by unions and lawyers

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State government proposes reforms to use of nondisclosure agreements by employers in Australian first

The use of nondisclosure agreements will be restricted in sexual harassment cases to prevent victim-survivors being silenced, under reforms proposed by the Victorian government that are backed by employment lawyers and industry groups.

The move – an Australian first – was announced on Monday by Victoria’s workplace safety minister, Ingrid Stitt, who said the proposed reforms were a direct response to a ministerial taskforce investigating workplace sexual harassment, which made 26 recommendations. Most have already been accepted by the government.

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Reboot of Jenkins review into toxic parliamentary culture already begun, Katy Gallagher says

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Minister for women says mission to improve workplace conditions is urgent and will not ‘die a little slow death’

Minister for women, Katy Gallagher, says she will kickstart implementation of the Jenkins review in the opening fortnight of the new parliament, declaring the mission to eradicate toxic parliamentary staffing culture is not going to “die a little slow death”.

In her first interview as the new federal minister for women, Katy Gallaghersaid the Jenkins reboot had begun this week. She said Kerri Hartland, the independent chair of the Jenkins review implementation taskforce, had contacted MPs across the parliament to revive the process that went into hiatus because of the May election.

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Rishi Sunak and Sajid Javid resign as Boris Johnson apologises for Chris Pincher ‘mistake’ – UK politics live

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Chancellor says government must be run ‘properly, competently and seriously’; health secretary adds ‘I can no longer continue in good conscience’

Nicola Sturgeon asked Boris Johnson to discuss a fresh referendum on independence when the two spoke by phone on Monday evening. According to a Scottish government readout of their conversation, she warned him she would not be deterred if he refused to grant one.

Downing Street has not yet issued a readout of the conversation – lobby reporters should get one at their morning briefing later. We do not know what the prime minister said in reply to Sturgeon’s request for permission to stage a referendum, under a section 30 order granted by the UK government. Johnson has yet to reply in writing to Sturgeon’s demand by letter that Holyrood gets that section 30 order.

The two leaders agreed that a heads of government meeting will take place in the near future to discuss the current cost of living crisis. Both governments will work together to develop proposals ahead of that meeting to help those most in need of support.

In discussing Scotland’s future the first minister again made clear that the Scottish government is ready and willing to negotiate a section 30 order to secure a referendum on independence but reiterated that the absence of a section 30 order will not mean Scotland is refused the democratic right to choose.

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Parliament an unsafe workplace due to sexual misconduct by MPs, say unions

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Political parties cannot be trusted to deal with misbehaviour by their own MPs, claim general secretaries

Parliament must act to stop the “seemingly endless” allegations of sexual misconduct by MPs as political parties cannot be trusted to make it a safe place to work, two leading unions have warned.

As No 10 admitted Boris Johnson had known about allegations against Chris Pincher before making him deputy chief whip, the FDA and Prospect said politicians were time and again failing to “deal properly with sexual misconduct by one of their own”.

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Johnson faces backlash for ‘failure to act’ over Chris Pincher warnings

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Parliamentary staffers and Tory MPs say allegations of sexual misconduct were not acted on by whips

Boris Johnson is facing a backlash over the promotion of his ally Chris Pincher, as a group of Conservative parliamentary staffers accused the prime minister of a “failure to act on warnings” of sexual misconduct by his MPs.

As new claims emerged about Pincher, who resigned as deputy chief whip over allegations that he groped two men in a London club, No 10 continued to insist that Johnson was unaware of any “specific” warnings until last week.

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Jess Phillips says allegations about MPs should be investigated without formal complaint

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Labour MP wants inquiries into potential sexual misconduct to be possible before a specific victim comes forward

Sexual misconduct allegations about MPs should be investigated without always needing a victim to formally come forward, Jess Phillips, the Labour MP and victims advocate, has said.

Phillips, a shadow Home Office minister, said it was not right that Boris Johnson used the lack of a formal complaint against Chris Pincher as an “excuse” for the Conservative party not to have looked into widespread rumours about his conduct.

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Sexual harassment of women in Australian culture industries must be stopped, says arts minister

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Tony Burke, who holds arts and workplace portfolios, says national cultural policy must include ‘assurances of a safe workplace for women’ after #MeToo allegations

As the first minister to ever hold the joint portfolios of arts, and employment and workplace relations, Tony Burke is promising to use government policy to tackle sexual harassment allegations within Australia’s cultural industries.

Speaking to Guardian Australia just prior to announcing the start of a seven-week national consultation period on Friday, Burke said he had closely followed mounting controversies over the treatment of women in the performing arts industries, while in opposition.

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‘She ruined lives’: Ghislaine Maxwell’s victims tell of the impact of her abuse

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The British socialite maintained her innocence as women came forward to accuse her of sexual abuse and trafficking

Shortly before Ghislaine Maxwell was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment in her New York sex trafficking case, several of the former British socialite’s victims provided impact statements in court.

The victims who addressed Judge Alison Nathan described harrowing abuse at the hands of Maxwell and her one-time boyfriend Jeffrey Epstein and the longterm emotional impact that still haunts them.

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New SNP sexual harassment complaints policy ‘in weeks’, say insiders

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Exclusive: activists forcing action over ‘systemic’ failings such as handling of complaint against former chief whip Patrick Grady

A new system for dealing with sexual harassment complaints within the Scottish National party could become party policy within weeks, the Guardian has learned, after escalating criticism from activists about lack of openness and accountability.

Revelations in the past week about the scale of failings in the handling of a sexual harassment complaint against former Westminster chief whip Patrick Grady have prompted widespread frustration among SNP activists, who have been pushing for a culture change since the #MeToo movement kicked off in 2017.

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SNP orders sexual harassment complaints review after ‘falling short’

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Party’s Westminster leader faced calls to resign after leak of comments supporting suspended former chief whip Patrick Grady

The SNP has launched an external review into the support available to staff after an MP accused her party of “clearly falling short” of supporting sexual harassment complainants.

It follows the party’s former Westminster chief whip Patrick Grady being suspended from the SNP’s Westminster group for a week, as well as being suspended from parliament for two days, over a sexual advance towards a teenage staff member in 2016.

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Craig Kelly staffer Frank Zumbo told alleged victim he was ‘very affectionate’ due to Italian heritage, court hears

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Zumbo, who has pleaded not guilty to 20 charges including sexual touching, insisted on driving woman to work so Liberal ‘spies’ wouldn’t see her catch bus

Former federal MP Craig Kelly’s office manager gave gift card vouchers to a young female employee and asked her to kiss him on the lips to repay the gesture, a Sydney court has heard.

Francesco “Frank” Zumbo, 55, is facing 20 charges, including sexual touching and indecent assault, linked to accusations by five women between 2014 and 2020. The third alleged victim gave evidence on Friday at Downing Centre local court.

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