With 28 counties casting off poverty this year, China shortened its list of poorest counties for the first time in more than 30 years, a concrete step toward delivering on the country’s goal of completely eliminating poverty by 2020. An anti-poverty o… read more
1 November 2017
*Deputy leader Amelia Womack: “So many in Westminster are utterly failing to understand the power dynamics at play”
The Green Party is calling for MPs to be sent to consent lessons after multiple allegations of sexual harassment and assault in Westminster [1].
Caroline Lucas MP, Green Party co-leader, raised the idea of ongoing, compulsory training covering consent, appropriate language and professional boundaries during a panel discussion on BBC Radio 5 live this morning.
It is also Green Party policy for consent lessons to be part of compulsory PSHE in schools [2].
Amelia Womack, Green Party deputy leader, said:
“As the number of sexual harassment and assault allegations grows, it becomes more and more apparent that many have no idea what is and isn’t appropriate in the workplace. So many in Westminster are utterly failing to understand the power dynamics at play between male MPs, senior political party figures and other staff like assistants and researchers.
“We’re calling for consent lessons to be part of MPs’ induction into Parliament and ongoing training should be compulsory – starting now. The sooner we can end this epidemic of sexual harassment the better.
“Westminster is far from unique in its failure to tackle harassment, and these measures will not protect women in other workplaces, but it is a step in the right direction. Introducing consent lessons as part of compulsory PSHE in schools would make a wider impact and help keep the next generation safe from harassment.
“Westminster has an opportunity to lead the way and introduce mandatory training to prevent sexual harassment and assault in the first place, alongside robust reporting procedures where perpetrators will be held to account when it does occur.”
Notes:
1 November 2017
Caroline Lucas has criticised the Home Office for failing to implement its own policy and continuing to detain victims of sexual assault.
Lucas called on the Government to stop “inflicting further misery on people who have already experienced intense suffering” in response to a report by Women for Refugee Women, which found 22 out of 26 women interviewed had experienced sexual or gender based violence and been detained.
All the women were detained after the Home Office ‘Adults at Risk’ policy, which states people most at risk of being harmed by detention, including women who have survived sexual and gender-based violence, should not normally be locked up.
Caroline Lucas MP, co-leader of the Green Party, said:
“These findings are shocking, and show a complete failure by the Home Office to act on their own policy. Just a glance at some of the case studies reveals the callous disregard for people’s wellbeing at the Government’s approach – and the urgent need for change.
“The Government’s cruel failure to comply with their own policy inflicts further misery on people who have already experienced intense suffering. Indeed the UK has one of the most draconian systems of detention of anywhere in the world. It’s inhumane, expensive and unnecessarily harsh – which is why it needs overhauling. The Home Office must immediately stop routinely locking up the victims of sexual violence – there’s simply no excuse for further inaction.”
read moreThe current embankment by the River Tamar which protects Calstock from flooding is in poor condition and needs replacing. read more
Archaeologists in central China’s Henan Province have excavated a 2,400-year-old pit containing horses and chariots beside a tomb possibly belonging to a lord. The No. 3 Horse and Chariot Pit is one of a cluster of tombs belonging to noble families of… read more