Sexual Harassment in the UK Parliament: Lessons from the #MeToo Era

by Christina Julios

Overview

This book examines the phenomenon of sexual harassment in the UK Parliament and efforts to tackle it. The volume’s in-depth research unveils a political culture where sexual transgressions thrive. Its intersectional feminist perspective furthermore highlights multiple systems of gendered oppression perpetuating inequality. Britain’s experience is viewed against the global #MeToo movement and Hollywood’s Weinstein sex scandal. The book identifies ways to redress the status quo and challenges ahead, including a gender power gap, misuse of non-disclosure agreements to silence victims, and misogynistic organisational cultures.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9783030871406
Publisher:	Palgrave Macmillan
Publication date:	02/10/2022
Series:	Gender and Politics
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	468 KB

About the Author

Dr Christina Julios is an academic author, Honorary Associate at The Open University (UK) and Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (UK). She is a former Honorary Research Fellow and Associate Lecturer at Birkbeck, University of London (UK), and has guest-lectured at Queen Mary, University of London. Her research interests include gender equality, violence against women and girls, and social movements. Previously, Dr Julios was Director of Policy and External Affairs at the Ethnic Minority Foundation, a national charity. She has authored the books Female Genital Mutilation and Social Media (2019), Forced Marriage and 'Honour' Killings in Britain (2015), and Contemporary British Identity (2008).

Table of Contents

1. Introduction: The Politics of Sexual Harassment.- 2. Understanding Sexual Harassment in the #MeToo Era.- 3. From #MeToo to the Palace of ‘Sexminster’.- 4. UK’s Devolution and Sexual Harassment: Scotland and Wales Too.- 5. Cleaning up the Houses of Parliament.- 6. Beyond British Politics: Sexual Harassment as a Global Issue.- 7. Conclusion: Heeding the #MeToo Lessons?

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“Representing a major contribution to our knowledge and understanding of sexual harassment in the workplace, this is a strong candidate for becoming a seminal text in the area. Julios has approached the subject unflinchingly and head-on. She flags the slippery nature of definition, with the consequent confusion around perceptions of the term. Painstakingly, she has catalogued a wealth of rich examples, across occupational sectors and across country boundaries, convincingly building the case for the intersectional feminist analysis she adopted. Crucially, ways forward are also discussed. The book is certainly overdue in the UK, and internationally."

— Jenny Bimrose, Professor Emeritus, Institute for Employment Research, University of Warwick, UK

“This book makes an important contribution to our understanding of women’s workplace rights in British politics that will have relevance to academic and generalist audiences globally. It carefully and insightfully documents how the #MeToo movement has shaped women’s experiences in British politics, the progress that has been made to address this problem to date, and the steps still needed to be taken to put an end to gender-based workplace violence. Well worth the read.”

— Tracey Raney, Professor, Ryerson University, Canada

"This important book documents the 'boys’ club' ethos and terrifying degree of institutional sexism that have led to the ingrained and ongoing sexual harassment of women in the Westminster and other UK parliaments. Christina Julios shows how women experiencing sexual harassment from their colleagues have been silenced through a corporate culture of complicity and points to the urgent need to counter the gender power gap that exists at the heart of our political system.

— Marianne Hester OBE FAcSS, Professor, Chair in Gender, Violence and International Policy at the University of Bristol, UK

“This is an important book that offers deep insight into sexual harassment in politics against the timely context of #MeToo. Julios takes us on a journey through the historical context against which we can understand sexual harassment in the workplace, and in the context of the UK Parliament in particular. The book examines recent government strategies to address sexual violence in the workplace, and also critically considers institutional barriers to eradicating these practices, drawing on a wide body of feminist research about gendered power relations in a range of public spaces and institutions.”

— Vanita Sundaram, Professor, University of York, UK

Editorial Reviews

This is a well documented book that will be of interest to a wide range of gender and politics scholars. By highlighting the intersections between gender and power … this book makes an excellent contribution to British and Global North scholarship on gender and politics.” (Tracey Raney, Politics & Gender, December 6, 2022)

From the Publisher