More men to speak up and help women report unacceptable behaviour.

Following reports that a male Conservative MP was watching porn in the House of Commons, Anthea Sully, the Chief Executive of White Ribbon UK, made the following statement:

Viewing porn in public has long been used to harass women. That this should have happened in the House of Commons is shocking and shows how normalised this sort of abuse can be.

Such behaviour causes personal harm to the women who experience it and is a block to women’s equality. All too often it has fallen on women to report while men will often know that their peers are behaving unacceptably.

To change such toxic cultures, we need men to call this behaviour out. White Ribbon UK calls on all men to learn to become allies to women, to listen to their experience and to never excuse or remain silent about violence and abuse. Members of Parliament should be setting a lead for ending sexism – all men in Westminster need to be stepping up and taking responsibility to create a culture of equality and respect.

*Photo by Agustín Molina on Unsplash