Party accused of covering up attacks as 43 women reveal abuse at all levels
A report by LabourToo, a network of female activists, says many victims of sex attacks were 'dissuaded from pursuing complaints'
LABOUR is today accused of covering up sex abuse after 43 women claimed they were attacked.
A report by LabourToo, a network of female activists, said many were “dissuaded from pursuing complaints”.
Labour has been accused of brushing shocking sex abuse and rape under the carpet after 43 women came forward with harrowing stories about sex attacks.
It claimed senior officials took no action against “problem individuals” at every level whose activities were “common knowledge”.
One activist said she quit the party after being raped at its annual conference. She alerted an MP and regional officials but said “no one cared”.
A senior official was accused of raping and sexually assaulting two members but it was “covered up because of fears of how it would look”.
Another activist told how at a dinner an MP “spent the night stroking my leg under the table”.
Labour MP Jess Phillips called for an investigation into the “horrifying” report, adding: “People were ignored, silenced. We need to draw a line and make sure this never happens again.”
The report’s recommendations include calls for an independent complaints procedure plus compulsory training for all party staff on how to treat women.
Labour said it has already appointed a QC to assess its sexual harassment procedures.
Some of the harrowing tales from victims in Labour's report
- "As an intern, I was sexually harassed by a married male MP at a Labour Christmas party. He got drunk and I remember he was very red in the face and started coming up behind me and stroking my arm. I felt really uncomfortable and not able to report it to the Labour party because the people I had to tell would have known him and wanted to protect him."
- "There was a councillor who was very well-known to senior figures in the local Labour party for being a serial groper of women… if I was running the board at a canvassing session he would come up behind me and put a hand on my hips or round my waist when feeding back the data, and would always want to put ‘vote Labour’ stickers on women in a way that meant he could touch their breasts."
- "I was raped at [Party Conference], a man was harassing me and wouldn’t leave me alone…I am no longer a member of the party and this at least in part played a role. I told my region and an MP I trusted. No-one cared."
- "I went to my first CLP (constituency Labour party) fundraiser on my own. The MP there spent the night stroking my leg under the table... at the end of the night I was getting a liff home and he got in the car, when we got back to his house he was insistent on me coming in his house."
