UCU update on sexual harassment

This year's Heart Unions week has reminded us that sexual harassment is a shamefully widespread problem faced by workers across the UK. Recent statistics show that half of women and two-thirds of LGBT+ people have reported experiencing sexual harassment in the workplace. Sexual harassment and violence are endemic across society; the trade union movement and the sectors we organise in are unfortunately not exempt.

UCU recognises that those who experience violence and harassment face huge challenges, often including pressure from perpetrators and employers to keep quiet about their experience. This is especially true for those who experience sexual harassment and violence directly, but can also be the case for those who witness harassment or support students and colleagues to speak out about their experiences.

All those who experience or are affected by sexual harassment and violence have a right to be listened to and supported. The union is fully committed to ensuring there are safe, fair and accessible systems in place to provide as much support as possible - both in the workplace and in the union.

That starts with making sure members can be confident about the support UCU will provide if they want to raise a complaint about sexual harassment. We acknowledge that, unfortunately, this hasn't always been the case in the past but we are committed to learning and improving where we can.

To that end, the union is currently undertaking a wide-ranging review of how we support members who have experienced or are impacted by sexual harassment. In the coming months we will be drawing on the expertise of organisations including Acas and the 1752 Group to take forward this work, so we can learn from best practice and ensure our approaches - including the union's own disciplinary procedures - are as accessible and supportive as possible.

We also need to redouble our efforts to tackle sexual harassment in the workplace. UCU has a range of resources and training to support members and branches, but we will also be further developing our work in this area through a new task group on sexual misconduct, harassment and violence. The task group is a new initiative that will draw on the wide experience of members to explore these issues in more depth and consider how we can tackle them effectively. We will be announcing more details about this in the coming weeks.

The union stands in solidarity with all organisations working to tackle sexual harassment, and is supporting the TUC's This Is Not Working campaign for a new duty on employers to take steps to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace. If you haven't already done so, please take a moment to sign the petition calling on the government to act.