A woman in the UK has written an open letter calling for more women to be protected from sexual harassment at work.
A study of 1,500 women found that only 11 percent of women who said they were harassed reported it to HR.
This suggests that women in office are more likely to be the victims of unwanted sexual advances, and may not have the power to fight back.
The Women’s Centre for Public Policy, a UK-based women’s rights organisation, published the letter, titled ‘Safety first: How to protect women in an environment free of harassment’.
The letter is part of a campaign to protect vulnerable workers, including women in corporate jobs.
The campaign also wants to create a system that helps women in their workplace be more aware of the harassment they face, and has called for the introduction of an ‘equitable framework’ for reporting harassment, in which men can share information with each other about a colleague’s behaviour.
The letter has been shared by more than 4,000 people.
‘We cannot afford to see women become the new victim of harassment’ Alison Saunders, the executive director of the Women’s Center for Public, Gender and Society, told Al Jazeera.
‘In our country, a woman is expected to be responsible for her own wellbeing, her own career.
This is not acceptable.
‘I want to see more women being empowered, because I don’t want to be seen as a victim when I have to take responsibility for myself.
‘What we are asking for is to have a safety-first framework so that we can start to recognise the real problem that is in our society and how we can change it.’
Alison Saunders has been a director of women’s groups for 25 years, including the Women in Corporate, and is also the founder of the National Women’s Forum.
‘The number one issue is that we need to have an equitable framework that will give women the power and the resources to be able to stand up against this.
‘If we don’t have the opportunity to do that, we’re not going to have the courage to stand and say: ‘We’ve got to make it up to you’.’
Our society has created a culture where women are seen as passive victims, and we have to change that culture if we’re going to make change.
‘There’s been a culture of victimhood and entitlement, where we don, and don’t, feel entitled to anything, and that needs to change.’
The Women in Private Business organisation is also calling for better protections for women at work, and to set up a new legal and policy framework that would allow women to claim for legal redress.
‘Women are often thought of as a passive, unimportant, invisible and unimportant group of people, and are often viewed as having no power,’ Alison Saunders said.
‘So, when women feel unsafe at work we have an obligation to speak up and protect our workplace.
‘Our society, in general, has created an environment where women feel powerless, invisible, and uninteresting.
‘When we see a man doing this to a woman, we have a duty to speak out and demand justice for the woman, and stand up for women.’
She added that companies should be able see how many complaints they have received, and how many employees are the victims.
Alison Saunders is an executive director at the Women.org campaign group, and the founder and director of a women’s organisation called the National Center for Women in Business.
The group also calls for the creation of a legal framework to help women protect themselves, and said it would ‘create a culture that will help women to feel empowered and safe in the world of work’.
Alison Saunders was previously the head of the UK-wide campaign group Women in Politics.
‘It’s not just about the individual worker, but about the whole organisation’ Alison said.
Alison was a member of the Labour Party, and a member for Labour’s Women’s Equality Party (WEP) for nine years.
She also served as a member and candidate for the UK Parliamentary Women’s Party, which was founded by women MPs.
‘As a former Labour Party member, I know how important it is to protect all women and their rights.
‘But this is a big, complex issue, and if you are a member or candidate for any party, then you must be willing to listen to and listen to all voices and make your voice heard.
‘This is a huge issue for us, and it is a very hard issue to tackle.
‘Because of the way women are viewed as the invisible victims, if you aren’t going to speak about it, then your voice is ignored.
‘You have to be prepared to listen and be willing for women to stand for themselves and take responsibility in this country.
‘They have a responsibility to speak to their MPs and say, ‘We have been told this is acceptable, we need an independent review’.
Alison has been active in campaigning for change since the early 1990s. In
