‘Sexminster’: Channel 4 News’ 2014 survey of harassment in parliament given new relevance

In 2014 Channel 4 News carried out an exclusive survey of men and women working in parliament, ranging from researchers and activists to MPs from all political parties and sexual and orientations. A third of them said they had experienced sexual harassment involving abuse of power.

70% of the incidents we were told about happened to people under 25 – and men were more likely to be the victims. Many felt that speaking out so early in their career would put an end to their political ambitions.

Of the 70 people interviewed less than half said they had no first or second hand knowledge of such behaviour.

Three years on from Cathy Newman’s report – with allegations of harassment and abuse in Westminster again making the headlines – their testimony is as relevant and powerful as ever.