EFFIE BATEMAN | Lifestyle | CONTACT
With news breaking that a staggering one out of three parliament staff members has experienced harassment, those who have been victimised by the misogynistic, toxic workplace culture are quickly coming forward, before anti trolling laws stop them from having a voice.
This comes as no surprise to anyone, considering parliament has a checkered history of ignoring victims’ claims of harassment, adopting a ‘don’t look, don’t tell’ type of attitude.
With the anti-trolling laws coming into place and news of Dutton’s successful lawsuit against a tweet involving sexual harassment, affected parliament staff members have a very short window in which they come forward.
These findings come as part of an inquest into harassment, sparked by allegations made by former staff members.
There are reports of inappropriate remarks and touching of staff, power imbalances and inequality, female staff members are said to be targeted at a disproportionate rate.
And though this inquest was simply to find out harassment had occurred, a few brave staff members have chosen to describe their experiences in detail and how misconduct was normalised and even celebrated, creating an unwelcome and challenging environment to work in.
However, with the new anti-troll law aiming to unmask personal information for anonymous content considered defamatory, those who wish to air their grievances without fear of personal backlash are urged to get everything out in the open now, before they’re able to be sued for their claims.
More to come.
