Action on sexual harassment

Those guilty of harassment will continue to act with impunity if women don’t have faith in reporting complaints, the Equalities Secretary told a conference of women.

Speaking at the Scottish Women’s Convention (SWC) conference on sexual harassment in Glasgow, Angela Constance, Cabinet Secretary for Communities, Social Security and Equalities called for employers to take the issue seriously.

Ms Constance said:

“The subject of today’s conference has never been more in the spotlight and it is up to us to ensure that we keep it there, never again to be consigned to the shadows for fear of the consequences of speaking out.

“Our bodies and our minds are our own.  We will not tolerate the actions of anyone who chooses to harm us in any way – enough is enough.

“Employers need to ensure that they have robust, sensitive and fair procedures to deal with complaints, and that their employees have confidence in these. If women experiencing harassment and abuse do not have confidence, that pervasive silence will continue to exist and those who choose to behave in this way will continue to believe they can act with impunity.”

The Equally Safe Delivery Plan 2017-2021 includes the development of a pilot Equally Safe accreditation scheme for employers to encourage best practice on tackling gender based violence in the workplace.