Sponsored by Joyce Watson, MS (Labour, Mid and West Wales)
How many times have we heard sexual harassment in the workplace described as "just a bit of banter"?
Maybe you've been told that it should be taken as a joke or even a compliment?
Those who experience it will know just how undermining, humiliating and sometimes terrifying sexual harassment can be.
Sexual harassment is not a low-level crime that should be accepted as an inevitable part of everyday life. It is part of a wider, relentless culture of sexual violence and misogyny.
As a global issue, it is dealt with differently across the world and we can make Wales the safest place to work, live and socialise.
Wales TUC have worked closely with Welsh Women’s Aid to develop a toolkit that will give union reps the information they need to tackle sexual harassment in the workplace and stop it from happening.
Date: Wednesday 22 March 2023
Location: The Pierhead building, Cardiff Bay
Time: 12:00 - 13:30
Lunch will be provided
“Union reps are key to holding workplaces to account and making sure that bosses are doing everything they can to prevent sexual harassment” says Joyce Watson MS (Labour, Mid and West Wales), who is sponsoring this event.
Joyce began campaigning around the safety of women and girls when she led Welsh Women’s Voice before being elected to the Senedd in 2007. She has led on White Ribbon campaigning in Wales and has worked with the Women’s Institute in Wales on the Not in my Name campaign for over 10 years, recruiting male ambassadors to speak up. She has commissioned research into the patchwork of services for young people impacted by domestic violence across Wales.
Joyce is a Senedd Commissioner for Equalities and is a long-term trades unionist.
Also attending this event are:
Sara Kirkpatrick, Chief Executive, Welsh Women’s Aid
Jane Hutt MS, Minister for Social Justice
Shavanah Taj, Wales TUC General Secretary
Exhibition by guest artists who have created specific pieces themed around sexual harassment
In 2021, Welsh Women’s Aid’s launched the #NoGreyArea campaign to challenge the prevalence of workplace sexual harassment. The campaign collated experiences and conversations with hundreds of women across Wales.
What was clear from this process was that the vast majority of women in Wales had experienced some form of sexual harassment whilst at work. For many, this was compounded by abuse, harassment and violence they had experienced elsewhere in their lives. Many women spoke about the desperation and frustration they felt; that if they confronted the person harassing them, it could make things more dangerous for them, or threaten their position in the workplace.
The #NoGreyArea campaign acts as a platform that amplifies the stories that women across Wales have shared. These experiences informed the #NoGreyArea campaign video, as well as the changes to workplace cultures that Welsh Women’s Aid continues to campaign for.
To highlight the stories and experiences of what often feels like relentless misogyny and sexual harassment, Welsh Women’s Aid collaborated with Pwsh, a Cardiff-based arts collective, to commission two local artists to create visual representations of the collective voices of women across Wales.
Ophelia Dos Santos, a sustainable textile designer and activist, and Elena Gherghe, an illustrator with a background in art for social justice, have created three pieces of art that speak to the impact of harassment and abuse on women.