By Charlotte Webster-
A leaked report shows that almost a fifth of people working at Westminster experienced or witnessed sexual harassment or inappropriate behavior in the last 12 months
The report was commissioned by MPs as part of the response to allegations about the culture within Parliament.
The survey was obtained by the Independent website, and is due to be published on Thursday alongside the recommendations of a cross-party working group which has examined the problems faced by politicians, aides and parliamentary staff.
Andrea Leadsom has promised tough sanctions to tackle sexual harassment
Under a new grievance procedure, Leadsome has insisted MP’s found to have bullied or abused staff will face “real sanctions” under a new grievance procedure.
Punishments could include being suspended from Parliament and constituents already have the power to effectively sack their MP in some circumstances using recall powers.
But others close to the group have expressed concerns its report will not go far enough to tackle the problem.
The parliament-wide survey of 1,377 workers found 39% of staff, MPs and peers had experienced bullying and harassment of some sort while on the estate, the website reported.
Of those suffering bullying or harassment, 45% were women and 35% were male. With this report, should be the hope that male Mp’s will be a lot more careful in their conduct.