Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Laura Bates: Horror stories here, there and everywhere

Laura Bates, founder of Everday Sexism Project
Laura Bates, founder of Everday Sexism Project

“WE’VE decided to sex it up a bit, now take your top off.”

Those words, now seared into my memory, were spoken to me at a television audition during a brief period when I worked as an actress in London.

Sexism and harassment in the UK entertainment industry were rife.

I heard horror stories about directors who bombarded young actresses with sexual requests, implying career advancement would follow if they acquiesced, or career suicide if they refused.

I saw friends return in tears from castings where inappropriate demands had been made of them, and watched their agonies as they chose to remain silent rather than risk being blacklisted by powerful men.

https://www.sundaypost.com/fp/i-was-very-uncomfortable-about-doing-it-but-scared-not-to-then-the-directors-both-well-known-in-the-industry-told-me-not-to-tell-anyone-i-was-so-terrified-i-said-yes-actre/

When I started the Everyday Sexism Project in 2012 and more than 100,000 testimonies of gender inequality poured in, it became apparent that such behaviour was devastatingly common in other industries too. In fact, there didn’t seem to be any type of workplace that was exempt.

From a female teacher who had been assaulted in the staff room, to a junior doctor whose consultant told her to sit on his lap if she wanted help interpreting an x-ray.

A waitress told to grin and bear it when customers put their hands between her legs.

A DJ who, due to constant groping, had come to dread the job she once loved.

A YouGov survey last year proved what the anecdotal evidence suggested: more than half of all women and two thirds of young women had experienced workplace sexual harassment.

MSP Angela Constance: This has to stop and we have to stop it

Far from a rare scandal confined to the glamorous world of Hollywood, the kind of behaviour described in the allegations against Harvey Weinstein is experienced by women everywhere, in all kinds of jobs, on a daily basis.

If anything positive can come of these horrendous stories, it is my hope that they might help at last to destroy the culture of silence and normalisation that surrounds workplace sexual harassment.

It is incredibly difficult for victims to speak out.

But bystanders, colleagues and businesses can and should be taking action to end this endemic scourge.